


Heart's Rhythm

by Doctoring



Category: Ed Edd n Eddy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Ballroom Dancing, Dancing, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining, Prom, Slow Build, Slow Dancing, get your shit together Edd, posted in real time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-01-14 19:40:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18483028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctoring/pseuds/Doctoring
Summary: Though they're not dating anymore, Nazz and Kevin have plans for prom that require Kevin to learn how to dance. Everything seems to be falling into place once Nazz discovers who the student dance instructor is at her grandmother's senior center.Unfortunately for Edd, his conflict of interest keeps interfering with the dance lessons.





	1. 33 Days Until

**Four Weeks before Prom, Monday**

Nazz jogs up the stairs and takes a seat in a patio chair, next to her grandmother. While she tries to catch her breath, she asks, “So how’s the new senior center?”

Her grandmother then starts talking about the building and all the new people she’s meeting and getting to catch up with her friends. She starts talking about the class she attended today, which apparently she’s not fond of, at all, describing it as “the biggest waste of time in the past two decades.”

Nazz laughed at that. “You said you liked the new center, doesn’t really sound like it.”

“No, no, dear, it was just that one class. I do like everything else they have to offer. Like, tomorrow, we have a dance class, which has been so much fun!”

“Really? What kind of dancing?”

“Pretty much a little of everything. They’re still trying to tweak the schedule a bit, so we never know what we will be learning until it starts!”

“Sounds confusing.”

“Perhaps, but I find it exciting! Though I do prefer going on Wednesdays more.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, one of the instructors can’t teach on Wednesdays, thus the schedule changes, so there’s a student helper that’s oh so sweet! He’s kind of cute, too. I think you should meet him.” Nazz’s Grandma then winks at her.

“Don’t even go there.”

“But it’s been so long since you and Kevin broke up!”

“It’s only been since summer.”

“And it’s almost summer again! I did like that boy… why did you ever-”

“We had our reasons,” Nazz said, her usual response as to why their flawless relationship mysteriously ended over the break. They were still just as close as ever, no hard feelings, they just were dating anymore.

“Well, whatever the reasons are, you should get back out there, and I think the boy at the dance class would be perfect for you!”

“Grandma, I-”

“He’s so polite and charming!”

“Grams, I just don’t think-”

“He’s just so adorable, even with that gap in his smile...”

_Dammit, grams, stops trying to set me up and listen!_

“…though I can’t stand that funny looking black hat he insists on wearing all the time.”

“WAIT A MINUTE… What did you say his name was?”

Nazz’s grandmother grins wickedly at her. “I knew you’d come around!”

\- - - - - - -

“Kevin, please, you gotta!”

“That’s a ‘no’ from me.”

“But do you really want to go to prom and look silly not knowing how to dance?”

“I know how to dance well enough to not be embarrassed.”

“Seriously!? Since when!?”

Kevin looks up into the sky for a moment before looking back at Nazz, saying, “Since I saw Nat dance.”

They both laughed at that.

“C’mon now, he’s not a bad dancer.”

“Yeah, but he’s… wild… so by comparison, I’m doing alright. So, no lessons for me, thank you.”

“Dude. PLEASE!? I’ve known you the longest, so I trust you… I don’t want to do this by myself… Don’t make me go alone!”

Kevin dropped his feet on the ground, dragging them in the dirt until his swing halted to a stop. “Don’t even give me that bullshit. You don’t care about having to do stuff by yourself. As made evident by you bailing on me last weekend when you went to the earlier showing of the new Marvel movie.”

Nazz stopped her swing as well. “You still mad about that!? Wait, wait, wait! Please don’t leave!”

Kevin sits back down on the swing, but looks straight ahead, refusing to look at those puppy dog eyes he just _knows_ Nazz is giving him right now. “So, what’s the real reason? Why do you insist I take dancing lessons with you and your grandma?”

Nazz gave a long-suffering sigh. “Dude. Don’t make me say it.”

“Say what?”

“The surprise.”

“Then don’t. And don’t be _surprised_ when I don’t show up for lessons.”

A moment of silence passed between the two until Nazz finally said, “Double D.”

Kevin whipped his head around. “Double D? What about him?”

“He’s going to be there.”

“See!? You don’t need me there! Just take the lessons with the dork.”

“He can’t take the lessons with me if he’s teaching the lesson, well, helping to teach the lesson.”

“Wait… wait… are you shitting me!?”

Nazz giggles. “Nope! Found out yesterday that he helps teach the dance and music classes on certain days. Grams even tried to set me up with him!”

“Fuck. That’s… that’s awkward as hell.”

“Right? She kept pushing it even after I told her I knew him.”

“But are you sure it’s him? Could be someone that just looks similar-”

“Oh, come off it! As if! And besides, I asked him about it at lunch today, and he confirmed everything. He even said I can take lessons with him… as long as my grandma is there to be accountable for me, it’s okay! He’s even going to join me on Mondays for the classes at the community center, for people our age.”

“Sweet, so you _do_ have someone to go with besides me.”

Nazz groaned in frustration. “Dude. You know why I want you to go…”

“Fine. I’ll go Wednesday.”

“Really!?”

“Yeah,” Kevin sighed, kicking at the dirt.

“Promise?”

“As long as you promise not to tell anyone, I promise I’ll show.”

“Sure thing dude. I won’t tell a soul! So, you better not flake on me!”

Kevin just nods as his kicks off from the ground, swinging again.

Nazz smiles at him, not sure if he sees, before heading home, without saying goodbye.

Kevin stays and swings for a little bit, trying to sort his thoughts. _Nazz. Nazz’s grandma, whom I haven’t seen since the break-up. Double D. Who apparently can dance well enough to teach a class. All in one room watching my terrible dancing. The fuck kind of personal hell is this!?_


	2. 31 Days Until

**Four Weeks before Prom, Wednesday**

Nazz took the “don’t tell anyone” request a bit too seriously, so needless to say, Edd was thrown for a loop when he walked into the small dance room and saw Kevin. His heart was beating out of his chest, and he quickly forgot how to function. _Kevin. He’s here. But why is he here? Did Nazz tell him about the senior center? But what on earth would possess him to come?_ Edd’s frozen trance of questioning the reality of this situation was broken when he finally noticed that Kevin and the instructor of the class were arguing while the instructor was trying to edge him out the other door to the class. Edd regained his senses and decided to intervene.

Edd jogged to the other side of the room. “Hello, Kevin!”

“Hey, dork,” Kevin said casually while giving him a quick nod, before turning back to the instructor.

_He… he didn’t seem at all surprised to see me… Nazz must have told him, after all._

The instructor turned to Edd, “Do you know him?”

“Yes. He’s a, um, a f-friend from school and-”

“-and a friend of my granddaughter, Nazz, who should be here any minute.”

The group turned to the voice, Nazz’s grandmother.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Fitzgerald, but unless he’s your grandchild, like Nazz, he just can’t…” The instructor trailed off when Mrs. Fitzgerald glared at him. They stared at each other for quite some time, unnerving Edd, until finally the instructor sighed and broke eye contact, to look back at Kevin.

“For today, and today _only_ , you may stay. But like I said, you can’t be here unless you have a _family member_ here also taking the class.”

“Whatever, dude. That’s fine by me.”

Mrs. Fitzgerald once again had a smug look on her face, then went up to Kevin to ask a barrage of questions. Edd tried to start setting up for the class, but he couldn’t help but eavesdrop, especially for one particular set of questions.

“So, does this mean you’re back together with Nazz?”

Kevin laughed nervously. “Uh, no ma’am. Sorry.”

Mrs. Fitzgerald tsk-tsked. “Well, that’s a shame. But didn’t you say you were here because of Nazz.”

“Yes, ma’am. She wanted me to take a few dance lessons before prom, so we don’t look foolish on the dancefloor. And before you give me that look, we are just going as friends.”

_Ah, of course he’s only here for Nazz. And it’s good to see that they are still close enough to go to prom together. Though, judging by her face, I too don’t think they’re going just as friends. Why would you go through the trouble of taking lessons for someone if you just wanted to go as friends. Makes no sense._

Later on, after Nazz shows up and attempts to save Kevin from the Grandma Inquisition, they begin the lesson. The instructor announced that the day’s lesson will be the ballroom tango, to most everyone’s delight. However, Kevin and Nazz just looked confused. Everyone paired off, and the lesson began, with the instructor giving short step by step instructions, and Edd going around correcting people individually.

About halfway through, Nazz convinced a couple near them to switch partners, to stop her grandmother’s snide comments about her dancing with Kevin.

_Maybe I was reading too far into this too, if Nazz is wanting Kevin to learn to dance… but not with her… or maybe Mrs. Fitzgerald just pushed her buttons too many times… who knows?_

Though this partner change did ease some of the discomfort in Edd’s heart, it ended up being disastrous when they began the full dance.

Within moment, Kevin’s dance partner, Ms. Nile, started to complain about his lack of coordination, and quite loudly at that. It quickly escalated to her calling for Edd to come help, from across the room. When Edd arrived, Kevin dropped his arms, and Ms. Nile stepped back, gesturing for Edd to take her place.

“Could you be a dear and please show him how to move before he breaks something, like me?”

Edd started to say something, but Ms. Nile turned on her heels and headed towards the back of the class.

“Dude. I really don’t know what I did wrong.”

“You danced with Ms. Nile. That’s what you did wrong. She can be a bit… strong-willed in her ways… and besides, this is more like a social hall for her.” Edd nods towards the back of the room, and they both saw Ms. Nile chatting up with three other people, with one person looking gloomily from the side, apparently upset about this disruption to the lesson. “So, you probably didn’t do anything wrong but get in the way of her gossip. But just in case, let’s see what you got.”

Edd held out his hand, which Kevin hesitantly took, and stepped closer. There was an awkward moment when they both tried to put the other arm around each other’s waist, before Edd placed his arm around Kevin’s shoulder, mumbling, “Sorry about that, I usually get asked to dance by the women in here.”

“They ask you to dance?”

“Yes, it’s common curtesy to ask for a dance first. Remember, we’re starting with the left foot.”

Kevin halts, switching feet, before asking, “So, should I have asked for a dance first?”

Edd just knew he was blushing and wish he could remove himself from Kevin’s hold so he can pull his hat down over his face. Instead, he tried to keep up with Kevin’s jerky motions. “Typically, yes, but I’ll let you off with just a warning… for today, and today _only_ ,” Edd said in a mocking tone.

They both laughed at Edd’s impersonation of the instructor.

“Dude, I felt so bad! When he said why I couldn’t be here, I suddenly remembered Nazz saying she could come if her grams was here… did not occur to either of us that it implies I could NOT come. But I promised her I would give it a shot today.”

“Well, I find it commendable you’re doing so much for Nazz to make prom more enjoyable.”

“Psh. Whatever. This isn’t really for Nazz… and it’s not like we’re going to be doing the tango there.”

“Which is good, because Ms. Nile was right about you.”

Kevin stopped in his tracks, and dropped his arms, and Edd just laughed. “I’m sorry! The set-up was just too good! But in all seriousness, you are… decent… but seem indecisive at times, like you lost your steps or counts. Maybe we should cut the chatter…”

“Fine! No talking, just tango.” Kevin made motions to start dancing again, before stopping and saying, “May I have this dance… just to prove you wrong?”

Edd laughed, feeling his blush deepen. “Certainly, but you won’t be proving me wrong.”

Edd doesn’t know if Kevin succeeded in proving him wrong, because he was too distracted himself. When they started dancing again, Kevin pulled him much closer than before, possibly even closer than when he was learning the steps with Nazz. Edd could see the freckles scattered across Kevin’s cheeks and nose. He could feel the warmth from him. He could smell his cologne. He felt his own heart rate increase, with every subtle move Kevin made trying to steer Edd, and with every misstep Kevin took that had their legs brush together.

Edd was at his wits end, ready to stop the dance and run out of the room, just so he can catch his breath and regain his bearings. However, before he could start sliding his hand from Kevin’s, Mrs. Fitzgerald came up and asked to cut in. Edd took a step back, allowing for her to step in and dance with Kevin, who looked confused at this recent development.

_Maybe he wasn’t expecting someone to cut in. Or maybe he assumed she was asking for me._

Edd went back to making his rounds, encouraging people and correcting them when needed, but he kept glancing over at Kevin, who seemed to be doing the same thing, catching his eye on numerous occasions.

 _Probably nerves. He_ is _dancing with his prom date’s grandmother after all._

After class, Edd sees Kevin leave with Nazz and Mrs. Fitzgerald, so he was surprised to see Kevin loitering about outside almost 10 minutes later.

“I though you went home with Nazz.”

Kevin spun around. “Ah, yeah, she had to take her grandma home, and I brought my bike so I couldn’t exactly go with.”

“Ah, indeed.”

“Yup… besides… I wanted to see if you wanted to go home together.”

“I’m sorry Kevin, I will not get on that deathtrap of-”

“Dude. No. My bike,” Kevin said, pointing to the end of the walkway. “As in bicycle. Not motorcycle. Decided to go old school today.”

“Oh? Well… then that’s okay.”

“Choice!”

As they walked home together, Kevin asks Edd about his involvement with the senior center, what other classes he helps with, and how well he knows Mrs. Fitzgerald. They joke about how she seems like the most well mannered and proper-but-not-uptight of the persons there, then every once in a while she’ll just say something casual like, “This was worse when I dropped more acid, after forgetting I had already dropped acid twice that night. You know the trip is bad when you forget you’re even tripping.”

“Did she really say that?”

“Yes! Then she played dumb, as if she didn’t say anything at all!”

Kevin laughed loudly. “Yup. That sounds like Nazz’s grandma alright.”

“The acid overdose or the denial of admitting vices?”

Kevin stopped walking his bike and pondered for a moment. When Edd looked back, Kevin nodded fervently, and started walking again, saying, “Both. Definitely both.”

Edd shook his head but gave a slight laugh. “So, did you enjoy class today?”

“Yeah, it was pretty fun… I do want to take more lessons though. I know the dances are not like the dancing at prom-”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“-but I feel like it would be good to know. And to help me get more comfortable with moving my body. I’m usually okay with that, but tonight I realized how badly my nerves can get to me, and I don’t wanna freeze up at prom. Man, Nazz got me all paranoid now.”

“Well, me and Nazz are taking classes at the community center on Mondays immediately after school, if you want to join us.”

“Can’t. Got practice.”

“I see… well… how badly do you want to learn how to dance?”

“I just considered skipping practice on Monday.”

Edd stopped and turned to Kevin, realizing they were already at the entrance to the cul-de-sac. “Oh my. That serious, huh?”

“Quite.”

“Well… if you don’t mind using a living room instead of a dance studio, you can come over to my place to practice. I’ll help you out!”

“Seriously? You’d do that for me?”

“Of course.”

Edd hated the way his heart lurched when Kevin sighed and smiled at him.

“Dude. That’s-that’s fantastic! Thanks! So, um, so when do you wanna do this?”

“How about Mondays and Wednesdays, after my dance classes, so maybe around 6? I can just go over the lesson with you, one-on-one.”

“One-on-one. Choice. But hey, can you do me a favor, besides this one?”

“What’s that?”

“Can you please, please, please keep this a secret?”

“I understand. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks man. And I’ll see you Monday,” Kevin said, with a wink, before hopping on his bike, and riding across the street towards his home.


	3. 26 Days Until

**Three Weeks Before Prom, Monday**

Over the weekend, Edd texted Kevin, requesting if they can move their meet-up time to 6:30, since he forgot how long it takes to get from the community center to the cul-de-sac.

Kevin agreed, figuring it would give him some time to get homework done prior to their dance lesson. However, around 6:00 pm on Monday, Edd texted again saying he will be a little later because Nazz wanted to go somewhere. They would text every 15-30 minutes for updates, but Nazz apparently had her own agenda and didn’t drive them home until almost nine that night. Kevin spent that whole time struggling through homework and getting more and more stressed about learning how to dance.

Meanwhile, Edd found himself being dragged to the mall, so Nazz can pick up the shoes she ordered for prom. He didn’t mind, honest, since it was on the way. What did bother him was the inevitable question.

“So, are you going to prom?”

“Nazz, why would I bother with such triviality?”

“Because it’s _prom_ , dude, and you’ve been all gung-ho for all other school dances in the past, even the middle school ones!”

“But that was different.”

“How so?”

“It felt like a vital part of the academic lifestyle. But now I know my quality of life will not be adversely affected if I don’t partake in all major school events.”

Nazz paid for her shoes, seeming to drop the issue. However, on the way home, she took a sharp right, suddenly pulling in to a local coffee shop and demanded that Edd sit a spell and talk with her. Edd said he needed to get back soon, though he couldn’t tell her why, but she convinced him with “the best chai tea in town.”

Edd sipped at what probably was the best chai tea in town, and allowed the barrage of questions to continue.

“So, you really don’t think prom is important enough to attend?”

“Affirmative.”

“But can’t it possibly be fun enough to go anyways?”

Edd pondered this for a minute. “I suppose it can be fun, but I’m still not sure I want to put forth that much effort to attend.”

“C’mon, Double D. It would mean a lot to me if you would go with us.”

“’Us?’ As in you and Kevin? Oh no, I’d rather not impose. I-”

“No, I don’t…” Nazz sighed. “I just meant… like… all of us… D, are you worried about going stag?”

Edd was suddenly really focused on swirling his drink around as he spoke. “In all honesty, yes… Typically it wouldn’t bother me, but right now… it just fells… off. I don’t know why?”

_You do know why, Eddward. You’re having feelings for someone you shouldn’t and being at prom will probably just make it worse._

Nazz reached a hand across the table, placing it on Edd’s arm. “Dude. There’s nothing wrong with going stag. Pretty much all of the cul-de-sac are going stag. Jimmy, Rolf, I believe Ed as well, even Nat.”

“Nathan’s going stag?”

“Yup!”

“That’s somehow understandable yet surprising at the same time.”

Nazz shrugged. “He probably just assumes that everyone there is his date.”

Edd laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past him… Oh, by the way, I told Kevin about this story your grandmother mentioned in passing… about doing acid… do you mind explaining that one to me?”

“Depends on which acid story you’re talking about.”

“Which one!? There’s more than one!?”

Nazz laughed. “Yeah, hold on, if we’re going to do this, we should probably get some sustenance.”

Before Edd could register what she had said, Nazz was already at the counter, ordering food for them. _Guess I should send another update text to Kevin. I hope all these delays are not bothering him._

A few minutes before nine, Kevin got a text from Edd saying he’s finally home, if Kevin still wanted to get some practice in. Kevin replied that he’s on his way, but not for practice. He felt his phone vibrate, most likely a response from Edd, but chose to ignore it as he made his way across the street. Kevin knocked on the door, shifting from foot to foot uneasily. Edd let him inside and was surprised that he didn’t have to remind Kevin to take off his shoes. Kevin must have recognized that in Edd’s facial expression, and mumbled out, “I’ve been here enough times to know the drill, dork.”

Edd nodded and waved a hand towards the living room. “I hope you don’t mind if I finish this problem real quick.”

Kevin nodded as he peaked at all the homework material laid out on the coffee table.

“So, you said you were not here for practice?”

“Yeah, I figured you still had a lot of work to do if you’re just now getting home, and judging by how much of this stuff looks untouched,” Kevin waved vaguely at the school work, “I was right.”

Edd sighed and slouched a little, “I’m afraid so. I’m so sorry about this, Kevin.”

Kevin waved him off. “It’s no big deal. Really. So, what did Nazz need?”

“She had to pick up some stuff for prom, and she wanted to get dinner apparently. Or at least that’s what it turned into when we got to talking about prom and her grandmothers supposed drug habits.”

Kevin laughed. “Well… that’s one diverse dinner table subject.”

“Indeed, it is.”

“So… you going to prom?”

Edd just shook his head.

“C’mon now, you should totally go!”

“You sound like Nazz.”

“Good. She knows what she’s talking about.”

Edd rolled his eyes.

“Seriously. Please go to prom. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it much more than staying home.”

“I just don’t see the point.”

“The point is it’ll be fun, and you need to go.”

“Kevin… so why did you come over?”

Kevin blanched at this apparent deflect from the prom issue. “I just figured I’d come over to reschedule. I don’t want you getting worn out on Mondays and Wednesdays just to accommodate my schedule.”

Edd thought about it for a moment. “Tuesdays and Thursdays? I’ll be home and already halfway through homework by the time practice is over, so you can just come over whenever. Though this next Tuesday won’t work for me.”

“Choice!” Kevin grinned at Edd, causing a blush to crawl up his cheeks, before standing. “I should probably get out your hair now so you can get back to homework.”

Edd nodded before standing suddenly. “Do you have a VHS player by chance?”

Kevin squinted at him. “Actually, yeah, somewhere in my closet.”

“Good. I found something that may help you until our next lesson.” Edd reached into his bookbag and pulled out a VHS tape. He handed it to Kevin, saying, “They brought over the supplies from the old senior center today. I found this and snagged it for you.”

Kevin turned the tape over in his hand. It was a ballroom dancing instructional tape, for the basics on waltz, tango, and foxtrot. “Dude. Thanks! Seriously.”

When Kevin made it back to his bedroom, he locked the door, pulled out his VHS player, and got ready to at least start on the waltz. However, it took only about two minutes of just watching the footage to feel absolutely silly and stop the tape.

 _I feel like an idiot. I know why I’m doing this, for prom, so I can not look like a dumbass, but I_ feel _like a dumbass right now. No one’s gonna dance like this at prom, but I can’t really bail on these lessons. That’ll defeat the purpose._


	4. 23 Days Until

**Three Weeks Before Prom, Thursday**

Kevin and Nat were goofing off at the end of practice, resulting in them having to put up all the equipment by themselves, which resulted in them goofing off even more. By the time Kevin got home, it was much later than usual. _Edd did say to come over whenever, but I know he’s pretty strict on schedules._ Kevin decided that he needed to rush, and so he did. As soon as he was done with his shower, he texted Edd, saying he would be over within two minutes. Kevin hastily got dressed, raced downstairs, got scolded for running down the stairs, and sprinted towards Edd’s house.

When Edd opened the door, he was a little taken aback since Kevin wasn’t wearing his hat. That’s when he also noticed that Kevin was breathing a little hard and appeared to be sweating. Edd stepped aside and allowed Kevin in, while asking, “Did you run here from the practice field?”

“Nah, just from across the street. Came right over after my shower.” When Kevin dragged a hand through his still wet hair, Edd realized that Kevin wasn’t sweating, it was just his hair still dripping from the shower.

As Kevin took off his shoes, Edd turned around and pulled his hat down over his face, attempting to muffle a groan into the fabric. _Teaching Kevin to dance for Nazz. Being in close proximity to Kevin to teach him to dance. Being in close proximity to Kevin fresh from the shower and still smelling of soap. This is how I die._

Edd quickly composed himself and made his way to the living room, pushing the furniture aside to make more space.

Kevin rushed to help him and asked him what they will be going over for today’s lesson.

“Well, if I recall, the first dance on that VHS was the waltz, so I figured we do that one. Did you watch the tape?”

“Oh, yeah, for a bit…” a lie, “I found it very… informative…” a bigger lie, “though I still don’t feel like I know what I’m doing, so this in-person stuff you’re doing for me is much appreciated,” surprisingly not a lie at all.

Edd nodded, “That does make sense. One learns more by doing than watching.”

Edd starts the lesson, trying to show Kevin a simple box step. They practice the simple motion side by side, then add the first turn, then the next, until both boys were solo-ing the box step in the middle of Edd’s living room.

“Dude, I think I actually got it!” Kevin exclaimed, looking up from his feet for the first time, just in time to stumble on his last step.

“Splendid!” Edd moved closer, stopping Kevin, “Now for the real test.”

“The real test?” Kevin trailed off, as Edd grabbed his hands, placing one around his waist and holding the other one up. “Shouldn’t you ask me if I wanted to dance first?” Kevin smirked.

Edd let go of Kevin, but kept his hands hovering in place. He gave him an annoyed look as he asked, “May I have this dance?”

Kevin went into a ridiculous falsetto as he trilled out, “Of course! I was wondering when you would ask!”

They both started laughing loudly, but Edd regained his composure quicker as he felt Kevin’s hand move from his waist towards the small of his back. Edd took a few deep breaths between his awkward giggles, before clearing his throat. “Perhaps we should continue the lesson.”

“Right. You’re right,” Kevin said, still laughing.

Edd tried to focus on assessing Kevin’s progress on the box step, be he soon found himself distracted. Twice, Edd would remove his gaze from their feet or their clasped hands, when he felt a drop of water from Kevin’s hair hit his hand that was placed gently on Kevin’s shoulder. When he looked up to see the water droplet trail down his hand, sending shivers up his spine, he soon found himself staring at Kevin’s face.

The last time Edd felt the droplet of water, he trailed his gaze upwards, focused on the freckles framing Kevin’s ear lobe. He then looked further to the side until he was watching Kevin’s mouth as he softly counted out the steps. His gaze drifted up, until he was examining the small portion of Kevin’s green eyes that he could barely see through the lashes and Kevin’s downward glance. Finally, Edd’s focus would trail up to the still wet hair that started this lack of focus. The water made it darker than normal, and it was slicked back, though a little messy on one side when Kevin had mussed it while laughing earlier.

Edd though back to their previous interactions, and he couldn’t remember the last time he saw Kevin without his hat. Maybe middle school, when he kept it buzzed. But since then, he’s grown out quite the fringe, though Edd couldn’t tell with the hat and the faded sides.

Edd kept trying to think if he has seen Kevin without his hat since middle school, and couldn’t recall a single moment, even after dwelling on it while laying in bed, long after Kevin had gone home for the night.


	5. 18 Days Until

**Two Weeks Before Prom, Tuesday**

Edd lunges for his phone, assuming it was his parents calling him. He hesitates before answering, seeing a name he wasn’t expecting.

“Hello, Nazz, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Hey, Double D. So… You’re taking my man from me?”

Edd had never stumbled on his words more than he did in this moment. He even fumbled the phone at one point, not sure of what she meant or how much she knows. Then Edd heard a heavy sigh.

“I wanted Kevin to go with me to pick up my dress, and he said he couldn’t because you were teaching him how to dance tonight.”

“O-oh! Yes… right… that…”

Nazz laughed, “I’m not really mad at you. Yeah, I wanted him to come with, but I really do appreciate you helping him learn how not to step on feet and such.”

“Certainly Nazz. Protecting phalanges during school formals is of utmost importance!”

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Edd peaked out the window before saying, “Speaking of which, he’s here now, so I should-”

“Yeah, sure thing, D, and… Thanks again… this means a lot to me. And Kevin. He may not say it, but it does. I can tell.”

“Oh, wow… C-certainly. See you tomorrow, Nazz,” Edd said, as he opened the door. “Hello! Come on in!”

“That was Nazz?” Kevin said, quirking an eyebrow at Edd as he toed off his shoes.

“Yes, it was.”

Kevin had a stern look on his face. “She wasn’t trying to convince you to cancel the lesson on me, was she?”

“Oh, certainly not! She actually thanked me for doing this.”

Kevin’s face relaxed and he headed into the living room. “Good. She threatened to do that. I got a little worried she was serious about it when you said her name.” Kevin then pushed the coffee table to the side, with a grunt. “I just don’t see the point in going with her to get her dress. I know she’s concerned with color coordination or whatever, but damn, it’s not that serious.”

_Right. Color coordination. Matching colors. Nazz probably wants them to have the same color scheme. First the dance, and now this… This is certainly looking less and less like going as friends and more like going as a couple… I’m basically helping their date to be a success._

Edd sighed to himself as he helped move the rest of the furniture.

That evening they tried to work on basic waltz moves, some of which Kevin learned well, others, not so much. But in Kevin’s defense, his dance moves were nowhere near as messy as Edd’s emotions right now.


	6. 16 Days Until

**Two Weeks Before Prom, Thursday**

The boys opted to try the tango again instead of continuing on with the waltz. Even though Kevin has not attempted the tango since that day at the senior center, he is getting better, but mainly in terms of confidence. He’s staring at his feet less, counting out loud less, and his motions are more fluid. This is good for Kevin, but bad for Edd’s heart.

He feels himself get flushed as Kevin continues to spin them around the room, the blush deepening every time Kevin looks up at Edd, smiling, because he’s enjoying himself and the fact that he’s can move without watching his feet.

After about a half hour of twirling around the room, Kevin asks for a break. When Edd agrees, Kevin immediately plops down on the floor. Edd just shakes his head and heads into the kitchen to grab two water bottles. When he returns, he sees that Kevin is now laying on his back on the floor. He sits next to him and hands him a water bottle.

“Didn’t realize the tango wore you out this much.”

Kevin lifted his head, attempting to take a sip of water without spilling it everywhere. “Nah. Just stressed.”

“About the dance?”

Kevin sat upright, after failing to not spill water on himself. “Yeah. My nerves keep getting to me. I don’t know if all this is going to work out like I want it to.”

“What do you mean? You seem to be learning how to dance fairly quickly.”

Kevin shook his head. “It’s… it’s nothing… I’m just working myself up.”

They sit in silence for a while, occasionally taking sips of water.

“So, you thought anymore on whether or not you wanna go to prom?”

“Honestly, no, because I don’t see the point in going.”

Kevin awkwardly scooted in a circle so he could face Edd, eliciting stifled laughs from the both of them. “Dude. You gotta.”

“I don’t ‘gotta’ do anything I don’t want to.”

“True. But you still gotta. It’s prom. We’ll all be there. Don’t leave yourself out, dude.”

Edd looks away and sits his water bottle down on the coffee table. He continues to stare at the bottle, not responding to Kevin.

“Come on, Double D. Please at least think about it? You got until the Monday before prom to get a ticket… so at least think about it ‘til then?”

“Okay… fine… I’ll give myself a week.”

“You’d better, or else I’ll be sad.”

Edd is even more invested in staring down his water bottle now, since the rest of his body is failing to function.

_He can’t possibly mean it like that, can he!? No. Preposterous! Absolutely absurd!_

Edd saw movement out the corner of his eye. He turned in time to see that Kevin had stood up, put his water bottle on the other side of the table, and was now reaching a hand towards Edd. As Edd smiled at him, and reaching for his hand to be assisted in standing up, Kevin said, “Shall we dance?”

Edd’s grin grew as he nodded, and they began again.

Before Edd could get lost in Kevin’s previous comment again, possible to process what he actually said, Kevin spoke up again. “So… about practice next Thursday… I got a game that night, so we can’t do this.”

“Oh. What a shame. About practice, not the game… I know it’s the Lemon Brook game. Excited?”

“Yeah. I think it would make me nervous if it weren’t for all these dance lessons and for prom.” Kevin laughed awkwardly. “But anyways, do you mind if we reschedule the dance practice, instead of just cancelling it?”

“Not a problem. We can just pick at date and time once we are closer to the actual date.”

Edd hated the way Kevin looked at him a little taken aback.

_I didn’t mean for it to come off like that… and what am I doing!? Saying we can POSTPONE the rescheduling of an event that’s ONE WEEK AWAY! What has become of me!? My emotions are making me sloppy!_

Kevin’s confused expression soon fades, and he looks away, nodding. “Cool, cool. That works too.”

After the song ends, and a new one begins, Kevin and Edd start dancing a bit slower, matching the tempo of the new song. Edd tries his hardest not to think how they’re getting closer to slow dancing like this but fails. He looks over at Kevin’s face when he hears him clear his throat.

“Now, I know I’ve been bugging you about prom and all, and I’m about to suggest something probably equally as unappealing… but hear me out…”

“You’re gonna ask about the Lemon Brook game?”

Kevin stops dancing and nods ardently. “Yeah. Please just think about going to that as well. Though… your time to think on it is a bit shorter…”

Edd doesn’t respond, but just sways to his left, prompting Kevin to start dancing again.

It only takes a few more steps before Kevin interjects again. “I know it’s going to be hot and crowded since it’s a rivalry game, but it would mean a lot if you showed up.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Promise!?”

“Promise.”

“And about prom?”

Edd sighed, hoping it didn’t come across as annoyed. “I promise to give genuine thought and consideration to attending both the game and prom.”

Kevin smirks and slowly nods in approval. “Choice.”


	7. 11 Days Until

**One Week Before Prom, Tuesday**

When Kevin texted that he was on his way, Edd replied, saying the door is opened. This explains why Edd heard a commotion in the living room as he was washing dishes. Apparently, Kevin had walked right in and started moving the furniture on his own.

He looks up at sees Edd, and grins, immediately saying, “So I followed along with the entire VHS on Sunday. And I even watched a few other videos online. Think I’m getting the hang of the tango now.”

Kevin stands upright and starts dancing in the middle of the living room. It wasn’t too bad, at least for dancing without a partner, and Edd was actually a bit impressed.

“You’re much better at that.”

“Thanks! But don’t ask to see the foxtrot. All I learned about that one is different ways to fall and get bruised.”

Edd laughed as he helped move the rest of the furniture out of the way. “That sounds like quite the feat if you managed to bruise yourself during the foxtrot.”

“Hey. It’s a lot more of those backwards movements, and my bedroom isn’t as accommodating for dancing like your living room is.”

“Fair point. So, what do you want to do today?”

“How about you just put the dance music on shuffle, and we’ll let that decide for us.”

Edd like the spontaneity of this plan and set the music to shuffle. After skipping a few songs for dances they’ve yet to learn, they finally started their practice with a tango. Now that Kevin had a partner and wasn’t just making small movements in a half-cleared room, Edd could tell that he had been practicing. He was more decisive in his moves, making the movements themselves more fluid. Edd was about to comment on this when the song changed to something much more upbeat.

“Dude, what dance do you do with this?”

“Salsa.”

Kevin quirked an eyebrow. “Care to show me?”

Edd shrugged and attempted to led Kevin around the room as he showed him how to salsa. Because of the changes in roles and general movements, Kevin was struggling, causing them to go about it at almost half the tempo of the actual song. But they were enjoying themselves, laughing about Kevin’s awful movements.

“Dude, you’re starting to sound like Ms. Nile,” Kevin teased.

Edd turned his head, pretending to address another person in the room. “Could you please come and show this young man how to NOT break my hip!?”

Kevin started laughing so hard, he couldn’t even attempt to salsa anymore. When the song changed again, Edd raced over to his phone to skip the song, mumbling, “We will not be trying any rhumba anytime soon. That’s for certain.”

As Edd skipped songs, looking for one they can dance to, Kevin walked over and hit the pause button.

“So… this is gonna sound a bit awkward…”

“O-okay… what is it?”

“Well, I am having fun and all, and I do feel like I’m learning a lot, but… well…”

“But what, Kevin?”

“We won’t actually being doing a waltz, or tango, or salsa at prom.”

“Yes, of course.” Edd frowned, slowly placing his phone back on the table. _Guess this is the end of the lessons._

“Yeah. Exactly. So, I was thinking, maybe, if you’re up for it… can we do a dance that I will have to use at prom?”

“What do you mean?”

Kevin pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through something. “Can we… can we slow dance?”

“I, um… I guess that does make sense… to practice a dance you will have to use…”

Kevin starts a song, very mellow and slow, then turns up the volume and places his phone on the coffee table. He rubs the back of his neck, nudging his hat as he asks, “So… can I have this dance, dork?”

Edd wants to die on the spot. Just admit his life has peaked and give up the ghost. He tugs his hat down partially with one hand, while placing his other hand in Kevin’s waiting one.

One song.

Two songs.

For three whole songs, Kevin led Edd around the room, slowly. Edd gave him pointers throughout the process, but was careful in doing so, when he noticed what Kevin was doing each time in response.

The way they started the dance, it was like they were at a middle school dance. Slow dancing, but at arms-length apart. Each time Edd would suggest something, give a tip, or correct something, Kevin would nod and adjust accordingly, but not without also inching forward.

By the time Edd noticed, their arms were already starting to slack from the reduced distance. Eventually, Kevin had moved one arm up to Edd’s shoulder, while the other remained on his waist, pulling Edd closer as he himself inched closer.

When Edd gave his last tip at the start of the third song, Kevin had nodded, adjusted his hand on Edd’s shoulder like Edd suggested, and moved his other hand from Edd’s waist to his lower back, pressing his fingertips into him briefly as he took a half step closer. Edd couldn’t help but lean closer to Kevin, adjusting his arms so he had a better hold on him, and mentally berating himself for allowing his body to betray him like this.

Edd tried to distract himself from giving anymore pointers, to prevent being even closer to Kevin and possibly hyperventilating to death. But his distractions lead to him noticing that Kevin, usually joking around while dancing or overly concentrating on his feet and counting, was doing neither right now. He was just. Dancing.

He didn’t appear to be concentrating on anything in particular. His eyes traveled about, though what bothered Edd was the way they landed on him, soft gaze, with no real indication of what he could possibly be thinking in this moment.

That’s what got under Edd’s skin. Kevin appeared to not have a care in the world as he was slow dancing in the middle of the living room with someone he had quite the history with. Someone he used to beat up when they were children. Someone he didn’t really become friends with until after that incident with Eddy’s brother in middle school. Someone he eventually hung out with, rode bikes with, watched monster movies with, and prevented Ed from stealing Rolf’s chickens with. Someone he cried to after coming home from the hospital after saying his last goodbyes to his grandfather. Someone who he comforted after they broke down a few weeks later, after realizing what a big change high school can be. Someone he stood up for after they were outed in school, possibly jeopardizing his comradery with his teammates in the process. Someone who has been there for Kevin this whole time, even when they weren’t on the best of terms as children, and who is now helping Kevin learn how to dance for prom.

_I’m helping Kevin win Nazz over, aren’t I. All this time together, I’ve only developed stronger feelings for him, while he only realized how he can benefit from my dance knowledge to make prom more enjoyable for Nazz and him. I am a fool, but I can’t simply refuse to help him all because of my feelings. But this hurts so much._

When the fourth song began, Edd felt Kevin’s hand slowly move up his back, sending shivers along his spine. Edd took this opportunity to break away from Kevin and sit down on the only part of the couch not blocked by the coffee table.

“Double D, are you alright?” Kevin asked, the concern clear as day on his face.

Edd nodded and downed the rest of his bottle of water. “I will be. Just a bit dizzy.”

“Is this recently or-”

“Been happening all day,” Edd lied, and hated himself for doing so. “I think I’ve just been overworked and stressed. You know, with AP exams and end of the semester projects coming up and everything.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m not sure, but that makes the most sense.”

_No, what makes the most sense is you’re losing your head over a boy who doesn’t see you that way. Who’s probably still as close to his ex as he is, for a reason. And who keeps getting too close for comfort. Any closer and he’d be able to feel my heart beating out of my rib cage, attempting to escape and end my… oh dear… you’re being quite melodramatic, Eddward! You should just-_

Edd suddenly was startled back to the real world when Kevin clamped a hand on his shoulder, giving him a worried look. “Dude. Yeah. You really do seem stressed and a bit out of it, if I’m being honest. Maybe we should stop here for today.”

“Oh, I should be fine-”

“Can it, dork. I’m not going to add to your stress. You’re already doing so much for me taking time out of your day to teach me how to dance. I really do appreciate this. Not sure how I could even really express that to you.”

Edd grinned up at him. “Seems you already did.”

Kevin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Hey, take care of yourself, and I’ll see you Thursday, yeah?”

“Thursday. Sure.”

Kevin slowly drops his arm from Edd’s shoulder, before grabbing his shoes and making his way home, without another word.


	8. 10 Days Until

**One Week Before Prom, Wednesday**

Kevin calls Edd Wednesday night. As soon as Edd picks up, Kevin starts talking, without any greeting.

“So, I think I said something about seeing you Thursday, well, tomorrow now, when we last had a dance lesson. But I was thinking about our usual dance schedule. I somehow managed to forget about the Lemon Brook game.”

“That’s right. That is tomorrow, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… but that whole ‘see you Thursday’ bit still stands.”

There was silence on the line until Edd caught on. “Right… you want me to come to the game…”

“Edd, you promised you’d think about it.”

“And I’ve held that promise. I thought about it. Am still thinking about it. And I’m still not totally sold on the idea, but I will see what I can manage. Can’t guarantee I’ll attend the whole thing, but-”

“That’s good enough for me! See ya tomorrow!”

“Okay. Good night, Kevin.” Edd smiled to himself after he heard the line go dead.

“Eddward, why did you imply you’ll attend the game, even in part?” Edd scolded himself out loud when he caught his reflection in the mirror, noting his lovestruck grin.

Edd got ready for bed, taking more time than usual, as he thought about ways to bail on the baseball game, but ultimately came up with nothing but guilty feelings. He realized he had no choice but to admit that he really did want to see Kevin play, when he caught himself picking out clothes to wear to the game, after he laid out his clothes for school.

Edd laid down in bed, wishing his heart rate would return to normal, but with the stress and the constant thoughts of Kevin, he knew that wouldn’t happen until after the semester ended.

_If I’m this excited about going to an outdoors sports game, I can’t really deny the appeal of attending prom, now can I?_


	9. 9 Days Until

**One Week Before Prom, Thursday**

It was the bottom of the 7th inning when Edd found himself at the game against Lemon Brook. Lemon Brook may consistently crush Peach Creek in football, but PCHS gets its revenge during baseball season, and judging by the roar of the crowd, the revenge was good.

Edd would have been here one or two innings earlier, but he decided to stay home a bit longer and look up the rules to baseball, so he can at least understand what was going on instead of ogling Kevin the whole time, provided he could even spot him on the field.

When they were retiring the sides for the start of the 8th inning, Edd finally noticed Kevin who had stopped walking to the dugout to wave. Edd returned the wave but froze at the next scene.

A slightly taller boy jogs up next to Kevin, and must have said something to him, because Kevin was now pointing at Edd. When the taller boy took off his hat, Edd realized it was Nathan, but that would have been obvious by his next move as well. As soon as Nathan noticed Edd, he picks Kevin up on his shoulders and starts waving more frantically than Kevin had been. He even started pointing up at Kevin and yelling, “Hey, Double Cutie! Look!” as if Edd and the rest of the audience hadn’t already noticed his antics and were laughing. Coach started yelling at them to get off the field, and they rushed to comply.

Kevin did stop once more before heading into the dugout, to give one last slight wave to Edd.

Edd missed the next few minutes of the game while he hid his face under his hat.

The game ended in the middle of the 9th inning, with PCHS in a far lead. People were cheering in the stands, some were storming the field along with the rest of the players who were in the dugout. Edd waited for this initial mad rush of fans to get by before he cautiously made his way down the stands and around to the entrance to the field. It doesn’t take long for him to find Kevin, who starts jogging towards him as soon as they make eye contact. When he was only a few feet away, Kevin outstretched his arms. Edd knows this move, thanks to Ed. Edd stopped walking, and braced for impact, expecting a hug. However, Kevin doesn’t just hug him, he goes full Ed. He’s picking up Double D and spinning him around. Edd couldn’t help but laugh, even though deep down he knew that if this really was Ed, he would have demanded to be put down by now.

“I want in on this!” Edd hears Nathan yell, and sees a blur of white uniform and teal hair, before Kevin suddenly spins the other way, and jogs a few steps, apparently getting away from him.

Kevin then sets him down but keeps his hands on Edd. “Dude! You came!”

“I came…”

Kevin leaned in for another hug, a normal one, where Edd’s feet stayed planted on the ground. “Thanks so much! This means a lot to me!”

Edd nodded into the hug, hoping Kevin could feel it so he would have to use his words. He didn’t want to use his words. He was afraid he would just blurt out stuff he shouldn’t. Namely in reference to going to prom. Both times Kevin hugged him, Edd had a sudden urge to say he’s going to prom. He still hasn’t decided but being with Kevin like this makes him want to just blurt it out and make it true after the fact.

Kevin lets go and leaned back, one hand still on Edd this time. He was grinning, and Edd couldn’t take it anymore.

“Kevin, I thought about it, and… well, no I haven’t… but I’ve decided that-”

“KEV!” Nazz yells before jumping on Kevin from behind. She plants a kiss on his cheek and says, “Dude! Great game! You crushed those sour-ass lemons!”

“Thanks, Nazz!” Kevin says, returning the awkward sideways hug she was giving him.

Nazz glances over and sees Edd, suddenly giving a surprised look. “Oh, shoot! Double D! You came to the game!?”

“It seems I did,” Edd says meekly.

“Cool. Cool. Hey, I gotta borrow Kev here for a moment. I’ll bring him back though, no worries,” Nazz says, linking her fingers with Kevin and dragging him away from Edd.

Kevin allowed himself to be led away, and looked over his shoulder at Edd, shouting, “Don’t move! I’ll be right back!”

Edd doesn’t listen. He turns to go and finds himself facing Nathan with hardly any space between the two. _How did I not notice he was standing right behind me, and so close at that!?_

“Double Delight! Where you going? Kevin said he would be right back.”

“I, um I-I got homework to do.”

“Don’t give me that crap. You probably finished it all last week.”

Edd rolled his eyes.

“So, Kevin told me you were on the fence about going to prom… why’s that?”

“I just don’t see the point.” Edd had no clue why Kevin would talk to Nathan about this.

“The point is, my good man,” Nat said putting an arm around Edd, walking him away from the crowd, “that this is prom. _The_ prom. And everyone you care about is going to be there. And everyone who cares about you is going to be there. So, we would all, all of us, would like for you to show, man.”

Edd shrugged, and Nathan squeezed his shoulders.

“I just don’t know, Nathan.”

“Ugh. Please, for like the millionth time, call me Nat.”

Edd grinned wickedly at Nat, both boys knowing exactly why Edd refused to call him by his nickname.

“Trust me, as much pleasure as you get by saying the full ‘ _Nathan’_ instead of just saying ‘ _Nat_ ,’ prom is gonna be ten, no, A HUNDRED times more awesome than that. Trust me.”

“I trust you. I still don’t think I should go.”

Nathan considered him for a moment. “I don’t think you do trust me… and I think there’s something else holding you back… Double D.”

Edd froze at the sound of his typical nickname, not one of those flirty nicknames Nat always uses.

“If you really do trust me on this, then you would go.”

Edd nodded. “I promised Kevin I would _consider_ it, and I still have a few days to do so. But for now, I have homework to do.”

Nat spun Edd around and hugged him. “Cool. Thanks for coming out. Now go do your homework, man.”

Edd nods and heads towards the exit of the field.

“But don’t you dare forget to consider it, Double Delightful! Consider it until you say ‘YES! YES! YES!’ and then just DO IT!!” Nat shouted after him.

Edd rubbed a hand down his face when he heard snickering, knowing full and well what those people assumed Nat was talking about.

Edd was almost back to the cul-de-sac, when his phone goes off. Edd answers without looking to see who’s calling.

“DUDE! Where’d ya go!?”

Edd stopped in the middle of the sidewalk at the sound of Kevin’s voice. “I-I-I had homework… so yeah…”

“So, you stopped in the middle of your homework to come to a baseball game?”

Edd nodded and was met by silence. He realized he should probably speak while on the phone instead of using nonverbal gestures. “Yes. I’d figured I could at least catch the last inning or two before returning to my school work.”

There was a pause before Kevin said quietly, “Thanks for doing that. It means a lot to me.”

Edd made some noncommittal sounds, or he hoped he did. Functioning was not his strong suit this past month.

Kevin’s voice returned to his just-won-a-game excited register, “But you sure you got homework to do? Like, it needs to be done right now or whatever?”

“Yes, I am sure, right now,” Edd replied with a sigh before starting his trek back home.

“That’s a shame. We were about to go get shakes.”

_Stick to your guns, Eddward. Do not be tempted by pretty boys and their semi-frozen dairy treats!_

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to miss out on that.”

“Sucks. We’ll just have to go get some ourselves some other time, then.”

“I-I, I suppose so.”

“Cool. And thanks again for coming to the game. It wasn’t too boring for ya, was it?”

“No. It wasn’t too bad. It was actually a bit enjoyable.”

“Don’t gotta lie to me, dork,” Kevin laughed out loud, before Edd heard a few muffled sounds and Kevin mumbling, “Dude, Nat, get off.”

After a few more muffled sounds, Kevin returned. “Sorry about that. But anyways, do you think we can practice tomorrow?”

“Certainly!” Edd said instantaneously, against his better judgment.

“Choice! Well, I’ll see you then!”

“See you, Kevin,” Edd replied, choosing to ignore the incessant “Tell Double Delight, Nat says ‘Hi!’” that he could hear the in the background.

Edd hung up the phone as he entered his home. He went upstairs and stared at his already completed homework on his desk.

_I should have gone to get shakes. It’s just shakes. Celebratory shakes. I don’t know why I’m letting that kiss from Nazz get to me like this._

But Edd knew why. He just didn’t want to admit it. He groaned in frustration and laid his head on the desk for a few minutes, before calling Ed to see if he wanted to hang out.


	10. 8 Days Until

**One Week Before Prom, Friday**

The boys were practicing the tango in Edd’s living room, tripping about at times since Kevin decided without warning to randomly throw in some waltz moves in there. They spun and stumbled about, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, until Kevin backed up too far and fell backwards, over the arm of the recliner. Because of his hold on Edd, Edd followed him down, and found himself bent over the arm of the chair, between Kevin’s legs, with his face buried in Kevin’s stomach. Kevin laughed heartily, but Edd was trying to remain calm.

When Kevin calmed down, Edd realized the room had gone quiet. Too quiet. Apparently, the music had stopped while they were dancing, but neither boys took noticed of it.

Edd looked up at Kevin, who was looking down at him, shaking slightly from his silent giggling. Kevin didn’t even attempt to help Edd up or stand himself. He just laid contorted on the chair, sideways, with his legs hanging off over the arm. As he continued to look at Edd and smile, he took off his hat and smoothed down his hair, raking his fingers through his fringe.

Edd’s transfixed gaze was broken by his phone ringing on the coffee table. Edd struggled to get up and rush to the phone, lest he misses a call from his mother.

When he gets to his phone and sees a familiar face on the screen, he looks up at Kevin and mouths, “Eddy” before answering.

“Hello, E-”

“Lee.”

“Excuse me?”

“Lee just asked me out to prom.”

“Wow. Really now? Are you going to go?” Edd turned to see Kevin gracelessly roll off the chair and land on the floor with a thud. He tried to stifle his laugh.

“I don’t know. Thinking about it. Maybe I’ll just walk along the bottom of the creek instead.”

“Well, let me know either way so I know where to send EMS,” Edd replies, trailing off at the end, as he watches Kevin fiddling with his phone.

Edd could tell Eddy was rolling his eyes. “Whatever, Sockhead. Just thought you should know, in case I turn up missing in the next week. See you. Maybe.”

“Bye, Eddy,” Edd replied to an already dead line. _That boy has such an awful habit of hanging up as soon as he’s done, with no concern for proper greetings and formalities._

Kevin quirked an eyebrow at Edd, as Edd turned off his phone and set it back down on the coffee table. He was about to inform Kevin of Eddy’s recent development, but Kevin starts playing a slow song on phone before setting it down on the coffee table. He then holds out his hand, and says, “Care to dance?”

Edd nods, taking Kevin’s hand, and closing the gap between them. After a few steps, Kevin says, “So what’s going on with Skipper, this time?”

Edd rolled his eyes at Kevin’s use of Eddy’s middle name. “Well, apparently, Lee asked him to prom.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously!”

Kevin shook his head. “I’m not a fan of Eddy, but that boy deserves a break every now and again.”

Edd laughed. “I’m sure he’d agree with you for once.”

As they slowly swayed to the tempo of the music, Edd could feel Kevin’s hand on the center of his back, and how his fingers would curl and relax slowly, gently rubbing Edd’s back with his fingertips. He couldn’t tell if Kevin was doing this intentionally or not.

He decided it would be best for his own heart to just assume it was a subconscious act, until he felt Kevin’s other thumb move back and forth along Edd’s thumb. Edd start to feel his body heat up, and was worried that his hand would start sweating, making it uncomfortable for Kevin to continue to hold his hand as they danced.

Edd was trying to think of a way to diffuse the situation, when Kevin awkwardly cleared his throat.

“What about you, thought anymore about going to prom with us?”

“Us? As in you and Nazz?”

“Man, nah… not like that… it’s a group thing. Me, Nazz, Nat, and Rolf. And apparently Lumpy’s joined the mix.”

“I’m not sure.”

Edd’s back stiffened when he felt Kevin hand, mid-caress, suddenly go completely flat against his back.

“Dude. Even Sarah and Jimmy will be there. And we both know Eddy’s gonna cave and take Lee, but if for some reason he doesn’t, he’s more than welcome to join us as well... Don’t be the only one from the cul-de-sac not there…”

Edd hung his head down. _Oh, I do want to go. Maybe I can dance with… no… that would never happen…_

“Please, Edd? C’mon… It would mean so much for me if you go,” Kevin said, pulling Edd a little closer until Edd’s downcast head was barely resting on Kevin’s shoulder. They remained like that for a bit more and finished swaying to the song.

As another slow song began to play, Edd scooted forward and buried his face in Kevin’s shoulder. His voice was muffled as he said a couple words.

“Huh? You say something?”

Edd turned his head just slightly, his mouth still halfway on Kevin’s torso. “I’ll go.”

“What… wait… are you saying you-”

“I’ll go to prom.” Edd turned his head, ready to bury it against Kevin once more so he couldn’t see the blush.

However, as soon as Kevin had registered Edd’s words, he had pulled Edd flushed against him, causing Edd to suddenly lose his breath. This lasts for only a split second though, as Kevin picks him up and spins him, much like yesterday at the ball game.

The only difference, besides context, was when Kevin set him back down on the ground. For the past 24 hours, when Edd wasn’t focused on school or dwelling on all the secret meanings behind Nazz kissing Kevin on the cheek, he was lost in though of how it felt to have Kevin hold him so closely like that, and how he kept his hands on him afterwards. But now, that Kevin had set Edd back down, he didn’t just keep his hands on him, an arms-length away. He was still holding on to him, in full grasp, as if Edd’s feet weren’t touching the ground yet.

Edd was thinking about the psychology effect of feeling like your life has peaked multiple times in one week, when his thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of Kevin gently squeezing him, before taking a small step back, and resuming their slow dancing.

Edd hated the way his body felt needy at the sudden loss of full contact with Kevin. But he was glad for the decrease in contact, since he could feel his body slowly starting to betray him in other ways that were not as easily to hide as increased heart rate or respiration.

“You better not bail on me.”

“I won’t. I really do want to go.”

“Good. But don’t forget to get your ticket on Monday.”

“I’ll try not to.”

Kevin stops dancing suddenly. “Who are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t be Edd, all I’ll _TRY_ not to forget.”

Edd laughed. “Okay. Okay. I will definitely remember to purchase my ticket.”

“Good. Or I’m going to go 5th-grade-Marie on you and stalk you until you do.”

They both laughed at this, but Edd stopped suddenly when he remembered that Marie stole his first real kiss in 5th grade, and was ashamed when his immediate thought was, _I wouldn’t mind if you went “5 th-grade-Marie” on me_.

“Dude, you okay?”

“Yeah, I just thought of something…”

“What is it?”

Luckily for Edd, he did suddenly recall an actual problem that doesn’t have to do with Kevin kissing him. “I do want to go to prom, but I’m a little apprehensive about the expected attired for such an occasion.”

“English?”

“I don’t have a tux, and prom’s a week away.”

Kevin shrugged. “Don’t need to get a tux and everything. You at least got a really nice suit, yeah?”

“Yes, but I haven’t worn it in a few-”

“It’s in your closet?” Kevin asked, as they stopped dancing.

“Well, yes, but-”

Kevin bolted for the stairs, rushing up them two steps at a time. Edd raced up after him but couldn’t stop him. By the time Edd caught up, Kevin was already digging through Edd’s bedroom closet.

Before Edd could protest, Kevin said, “Ah-ha!” and pulled out a black suit. He removed the clear dust cover and handed the suit to Edd. “Try it on.”

“Don’t worry, I will.”

“No, now. If it needs alterations, you need to get them done ASAP.”

Edd was a little taken aback my Kevin’s sternness, but he did have a point. “Mind turning around at least?”

Kevin rolled his eyes, but Edd could see the ting of pink beneath his freckles. “Right. But where are your ties?”

“In the small, top drawer of that chest over there,” Edd pointed to a set of drawers in the corner of the room, before turning around himself. He’d like to believe he could trust Kevin to not look, but just in case, he should make sure he kept his back to Kevin, since his body hasn’t fully calmed down after that embrace earlier.

As Edd got changed, Kevin went to look for the bowtie. As he opened the top drawer, he gave a low whistle. “Dang, Edd, this is quite impressive!”

“Thank you,” Edd mumbled back, looking over his shoulder at Kevin, who was standing sideways to the drawer, so his back was to Edd. _Man of his word, apparently._

“If you’re looking for a tie for me, I’d rather go with my plum-colored bow tie.”

Kevin traced a finger along various handkerchiefs, bowties, ties, lapel pins, tie clips, and cuff links. He slowly mumbled “Plum, plum, plum” to himself as he began looking for Edd’s favorite bowtie, only finding it after he pulled the drawer out a little further, exposing a few more items in the back.

Once he found it, he started to pick out a few more items, carefully to replace things exactly a they were, otherwise. Right when he finally decided on a handkerchief, he heard Edd say, “You can turn around now.

Edd had put on the pants and shirt but wasn’t quite fully dressed up yet. His collar was flipped up as he fiddled with his shirt cuffs.

Kevin walked over, and helped him with the cuffs, Edd whispering out a thanks. As Edd put on the bowtie, Kevin placed the kerchief into Edd’s jacket, eliciting a slight smile from him. “Good choice.”

Kevin puffed out his chest. “Of course!” He then deflated a little. “Actually, I wasn’t sure I knew what I was doing.”

Edd breathed out a laugh and finished getting dressed. He examined himself in the mirror and walked around in circles for a bit.

“What the verdict?”

“Seems I’m still growing,” Edd sighed. “Probably going to need to be let out some.”

“I got you.”

Edd was about to ask if Kevin knew how to sew, but Kevin raced out the room. Edd stood there, confused, until Kevin rushed back into the room, a little out of breath, and on the phone.

“Yeah, it’s Edd. He needs a suit to be let out some for prom.” Kevin nodded a few times as he sat on Edd’s bed. He then looked up at Edd and said, “Where’s the issues?”

Edd button his jacket all the way and moved his arms. “The jacket is a bit tight, but I only-” He stopped when he heard Kevin repeat what he said into the phone, Kevin just gestured with his free hand to continue speaking. “Right. It only feels tight when I move my arms upwards.”

He danced a little, in place, as Kevin repeated his words. “Seems the pants are the real issue…” He tries to move with bigger steps. “It’s a bit snug around the hips… makes it hard to move, really… just small steps and subtle movements.

Edd wasn’t bothered by the way Kevin was watching his arms and shoulders during his first part but having Kevin stare at his hips and the surrounding area, especially with how tight his pants were, made him feel a whirlwind of emotions he’d rather not go through under Kevin’s gaze.

“Can you sit down?” Kevin asks.

Edd goes to sit down next to Kevin on the bed. He feels the pants pull, and slows his movement, not quite fully sitting on the bed yet. He gives up and slowly stands back up, looking at Kevin. The exposed feeling he had earlier only increased when he realized that Kevin had leaned back, watching Edd’s backside as he tried to sit.

“It’s, um… it’s…”

“Nah. He can’t quite sit down all the way,” Kevin says for him, into the phone. “Right. Right… Now?... No, I’m sure we can manage… Thanks, ma’am! I really appreciate it!”

Kevin hangs up the phone, and says, “Get changed. We need to get your suit over there for measurements ASAP.”

“But, I-”

“I’m going to go borrow Ma’s car. Meet me in the drive way.”

Edd sighed in exasperation as Kevin rushed out of the room. He had a general ideal of what was happening, Kevin was making sure Edd had a suit that fitted properly, but he still felt out of the loop all the same. Edd got changed and made his way downstairs, finding Kevin already waiting in the driveway in his mother’s car.

The drive to… wherever they were going, Edd honestly had no idea, was very quiet. The radio was turned down low, and Kevin didn’t attempt to make conversation. Edd just stared out the window, wondering how so much life could happen in just a few short hours.

_Dancing with Kevin. Agreeing to go to prom. Being held by Kevin. Having to change in front of Kevin. And now we’re apparently going to get alterations done on my suit for prom. Just a few hours ago I wasn’t even thinking about prom or Kevin, and now it seems like my whole like is just these two things. High school sure is a trip sometimes._

Kevin eventually pulled into a small home in a more rural looking cul-de-sac. As he got out of the car, Edd saw a very familiar face appear in the doorway of the house. Edd sat there, wide-eyed, as Kevin jogged around the car, opening the door for Edd.

“Mrs. Fitzgerald is fixing my suit!?”

Kevin grinned. “Yup!”

The next thing Edd knows, he’s in his suit again, standing on a crate in Nazz’s grandmother’s kitchen while she makes marks on his suit with chalk and pins. Edd only told her of two areas of concern, but Mrs. Fitzgerald continues to find more areas to work with, hoping to give Edd a more comfortable feel and a relaxed look.

Meanwhile, Kevin was tasked to just stand to one side and hold Edd’s change of clothes, but he’s decided he should make funny faces, and egg on Mrs. Fitzgerald’s doting comments, throwing in a few of his own.

_This is so freaking awkward. It simply can’t get any worse._

Just then, Edd hears the screen door shut behind him and hears another familiar voice.

“Wow, Grams. I knew you were getting Kevin all fixed up for prom, but Edd, too?” Nazz said, while walking up to Kevin a draping an arm around him. She gives Edd an once-over, nods, then leans in and whispers something to Kevin. He just grins and lowly says, “I know, right?”

_Apparently, I was wrong. It can get worse._


	11. 7 Days Until

**One Week Before Prom, Saturday**

After lunch, Kevin picks up Edd and drives over to Mrs. Fitzgerald’s house, so they can try on their altered suits. As Kevin tries on his suit, Edd looks at the rest of the clothes hanging in the kitchen. There’s Edd’s suit, which doesn’t appear to be touched, meaning Mrs. Fitzgerald is really good at letting out clothes without leaving signs of the alterations. There’s also a bright red dress with plenty of lace and rhinestones, which Edd assumes is Nazz’s prom dress.

Kevin comes out, dressed in his suit, and carrying a hanger with only a tie on it. He hands the hanger to Edd, who doesn’t place it on the rack Mrs. Fitzgerald had pulled into the kitchen. Instead, he looks at the bright red tie, not quite the same as Nazz’s dress, but close enough.

He doesn’t realize he’s touching the tie, holding the end of it in his hand and running his thumb over it, until Kevin scoots closer and says, “Nice, right?”

Edd startles and drops the end of the tie. He hastily hangs it on the rack, next to Nazz’s dress, where he can indeed see that it is a close enough match. “Yes, it’s a nice tie.”

“I don’t have a collection like you, only got three, but one of them is… it’s kinda lame… it’s a Christmas tie…”

“Christmas ties are a disgrace to the accessory community.”

Kevin snorted out a laugh. “Right?”

“So, this is an old tie? You didn’t get a new tie for prom?”

“Nah, not about that life. I just wanna have fun, not show off how much money I spent for one night. I just happened to luck out and have a red one that kinda matched Nazz’s getup. I wanted to go for my green one, but she said this would look better if we were to take pictures.” Kevin sighed and flicked the tie. “So… here we are… red tie.”

Edd didn’t know how to reply, but lucky for him, Mrs. Fitzgerald returns from her sewing room with a few supplies.

While she inspects the fit of Kevin’s suit, Kevin asks, “What about you? Gonna stick to that purple bow tie?”

Edd nodded, “Yes. I’m rather fond of that plum color. And it’s my favorite bow tie.”

Kevin is told to turn around, so Mrs. Fitzgerald can check the back of his jacket, but Edd saw his smirk and nod before he turned. “Yeah, I can see that. It does look good on ya.”

 _Thank goodness he’s turned around_ , Edd thought, as he pulled down his hat over his eyes.

When it was Edd’s turn to get changed, he gets pricked by a pin that was in the cuff of his sleeve. When he tells Nazz’s grandmother about this, she mutters a few profanities under her breath before saying, “I’m sorry, Eddward, dear. I seemed to have forgotten to do your cuffs. Let’s check the rest of your suit for now.”

After she approves the rest of the suit, and Edd confirms that he can now move his arms freely and sit down, he changes out of it. Edd returns to the kitchen in normal attire, carrying his suit, to hear Kevin trying to argue with Mrs. Fitzgerald.

“I said I would get it done today, and I will.”

“It’s fine. I can just get it myself some other day.”

“But this is Edd’s suit, not yours.”

Edd interjects. “I can wait a few days. That’s fine. No need to rush yourself.”

Mrs. Fitzgerald stares at him wide-eyed.

“See. We’re good.” Kevin said, grabbing his suit, and steering Edd towards the front door. They thank her for her help and said their goodbyes.

On the way back to the cul-de-sac, Edd asks about his little tiff with Nazz’s grandmother.

“In all honesty, it wasn’t really about the suit. I betcha she forgot to do the cuffs on purpose.”

“What do you mean?”

“She started gossiping as soon as you left the room, asking all sorts of questions. Then she said we should stay so she could ask you some questions as she finished the alterations.”

Edd thought back to a few weeks ago, when Mrs. Fitzgerald was interrogating Kevin about his relationship with Nazz and the prom. “Yes… I don’t think I would have wanted that.”

“And I wouldn’t want to put you through that,” Kevin laughed.

When they returned to Kevin’s house, Kevin asks if Edd minds going upstairs with him. Edd really didn’t have much to do besides watch a new C-rate zombie film with Ed later that night, so he agreed.

They go upstairs, where Kevin hangs the suit up in his room. Edd stands there awkwardly, not sure why Kevin wanted him to come up with him. He watches as Kevin runs a hand down the red tie. Kevin then hastily removes it from the suit and hangs it on an almost barren tie rack in his closet, Edd noticing the green tie Kevin had mention, the same shade as his eyes, and the Christmas tie with snowflakes and penguins on it. Kevin then shuts the closet door, looks back at the suit with no tie, and nods in approval.

“There. Now that that’s all sorted, mind staying a bit and helping me practice some more?”

Edd wanted to ask about the tie but decided against it. “No problem. Want to try the foxtrot again?”

Kevin groaned. “Fine. But this is going to be embarrassing.”

_Good. Then we’ll be even._

Edd pulls out his phone and selects a song, noticing Kevin rushing to close the blinds and lock his door. _He must still feel pretty embarrassed about learning how to dance._

Edd places the phone on Kevin’s dresser. When he turns back around, Kevin is standing there with a hand outstretch. “May I have this dance?”

Edd takes his hand and says “Certainly.”

They tried to dance for a bit, but it was hard moving about Kevin’s room with the lack of floor space due to the placement of his furniture. They soon decided to go back to the waltz thinking it would decrease the number of times they run into furniture. However, it didn’t decrease run-ins enough, and before the song ended, they both agreed it was a bad ideal to try to dance in Kevin’s room. Edd was torn between suggesting they should just wait until Tuesday or going to his place now to dance, when Kevin turns on his television and says, “You wanna watch something instead?”

Edd considers this a moment, as Kevin starts queuing up Netflix.

_Looks like he’s going to watch something regardless, so I might as well join him._

Edd stutters out a “sure” and Kevin grins at him, before plopping down on his bed. He scoots to one side and pats the bed next to him. Edd complies and gingerly sits down next to Kevin.

_On his bed. Locked in his room and sitting on his bed with him. Oh, Eddward, what are you doing!?_

Edd looks up, and sees Kevin scrolling through his list, but right below that, is the continue watching list, with Bob Ross as the most recent show he’s watched.

“You watch Bob Ross?”

“Dude! You mean Bob ‘The Boss’ Ross!? Yes, man, he’s dope!” Kevin scrolls down and selected the episode he just finished watching. “You need to see this one. The painting is not the best, not compared to a lot of his other stuff, but he has _squirrels_ in his shirt pocket as he paints.”

“Seriously!?”

“Yeah, man.”

About halfway through the episode, Edd realized he went from confused and apprehensive to completely relaxed in a matter of seconds, all because of Bob Ross. Edd looked over at Kevin, who had a half smirk and was nodding.

Edd laughed to himself. _Someone seems impressed with Mr. Ross’s current brush choice._

Kevin startles and looks over at Edd, smiling back at him. “Whatcha laughing at dork?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“C’mon, tell me.”

“It’s nothings, really.”

Kevin shrugs and goes back to watching the show, but soon turns back to Edd. “Hey, remember that scam you guys did, where you basically built that city in the alleyway?”

Edd groaned and pulled his hat down over his eyes. “I hated that scam.”

“Really?”

“I hated all of them!”

Kevin laughed. “I feel that… but I was kinda impressed with that one. That was one of the biggest constructions you had to do. And some of it looked legit, well, to us kids at least.”

Edd peaked out from under his hat. “Really?”

“Yeah, man. Hey, so… um… why did you do that? All the scams and stuff.”

Edd readjusted his hat on his head. “I supposed it was due to the fact that I was still a child, and I didn’t have a firm grasp on what it means to be a friend. I just automatically assumed that I had to gain everyone’s approval to be friends, so I would appease Eddy’s crazy schemes, in the hopes that it would impress the rest of you, so that we can be friends. I was a little ashamed that it took so long for me to realize that going along with _scams_ would just push you guys away, not be inclined to become friends.”

Kevin nodded, “Yeah, I get that… And, no offense, but I’m kinda glad you all stopped scamming.”

“You and me both,” Edd laughed.

“Speaking of the pipsqueak, did you tell him he could join us at prom?”

Edd nodded. “Yes, texted him that same night.”

“Is that why you finally decided to go? Because he might go?”

“No, I decided on my own. Which works out, since he just told me this morning, he agreed to go with Lee… while also complaining that he needs to go order a corsage today.”

“Well, shit. He really fucking did it. Lee.”

“I know, right!? But still, language, Kevin.”

Kevin just laughs and nudges Edd. “Whatever, dork.”

They continued on like this, watching a few more episodes of Bob Ross and talking about mindless topics, until there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!” Kevin shouted, not even looking away from the screen.

The door handle rattled, but the door didn’t open. “Shit. Forgot I locked it when we were dancing.”

Kevin crawled over Edd, causing him to tense up and hold his breath. He got off the bed, the door handle rattling the whole time.

“Dude! You forget to unlock the door after jerking it!” came a voice from the other side of the door.

Kevin hastily unlocked the door, and threw it opened. “Nat. Do you have no filter?”

“Oh, I do, but I don’t like using it.”

“You’re an ass,” Kevin said, as he was being pushed aside so Nat could enter the room. Nat took two steps and saw Edd sitting on Kevin’s bed. His eyes widen and he grinned wickedly.

“Well, hello there, Double Delightful! What a pleasant, _pleasant_ surprise!” Nat exclaimed, emphasizing each syllable.

“Hello to you, too, Nathan,” Edd said, secretly hoping he wasn’t as flushed as he felt he was.

Nat slowly raised two finger guns toward Edd as he turned his head toward Kevin, grin still in place. He quietly said, “Sooooo… you forgot to unlock the door after you were… jerking _him,_ or-FUCK! Dammit, Kevin!”

Kevin started punching him in the arm and shoving him out the door. Nat fought back and managed to snatch Kevin’s hat from his head, tossing it to Edd, who fumbled to catch it. Edd started laughing as he watched the boys pushed on either side of the door, one hoping to regain entrance to the room, the other hoping to close the door and pretend Nat’s comment never happened. When they heard Edd laugh, they slowed on their assault against the door, and both turned to look at him, smiling. Edd was laughing loudly, one hand covering his gap-tooth grin, the other clutching Kevin’s baseball cap.

Nat took this opportunity to push through Kevin’s defenses and reenter the room. “So, Double Dreamboat, you wanna go get some pizza with us?”

Edd calmed down to just mild giggling and checked his phone. His smile dropped when he saw that he missed two texts and a call from Ed, somehow forgetting to take his phone off the “do not disturb” mode after they no longer needed uninterrupted music for dancing.

He hastily got off the bed. “I’m afraid I just realized I was due somewhere else about 12, no, now 13 minutes ago.”

“Oh, shoot, sorry about that,” Kevin said, a bit sheepishly.

“No worries, it was just a movie with Ed, I’m certain he’ll understand, and if not, there’s always buttered toast to appease the beast.”

Kevin laughed. “True that. Well, see you Tuesday, then?”

Edd nodded, approaching Kevin. He tentatively reached a hand up and decided to just do it. He casually brushed Kevin’s fringe back with two strokes of his hand, and then placed his baseball cap back on his head for him. He hated how his heart started racing and how his cheeks started burning. But he took satisfaction in hearing Kevin’s breath catch and seeing him blush, while choosing to ignore Nat’s small squeal before he started bouncing on feet.

“Yes, I shall see you Tuesday. Good night, Kevin. Good night, Nathan.”

Kevin’s “good night” was drowned out by Nat’s “FARE THEE WELL, DOUBLE DELIGHT!”

As soon as Edd left the room, Nat started talking to Kevin, clearly with no concern about Edd overhearing.

“Dude. You made him late. Like almost a quarter hour late.”

“I knooow. I feel so bad.”

“Double Delight’s never late.”

“I knooow.”

“He’s actually typically early, and you made him late.” Edd looked back up the stairs, and saw Nat go wide-eyed before ducking back into the room.

“Is there a point to this?”

“Yeah, I’m just saying, if you manage to get Double D to lose track of time, then…” Edd, nearing the bottom of the stairs, barely heard Nat give a low whistle, “That must have been one helluva mind-blowing jack off-FUCK! WHY YOU ALWAYS GOTTA HIT ME? STOP!”

“WHY YA ALWAYS GOTTA OPEN YOUR DAMN MOUTH!?”

\- - - - - - -

As soon as Double D entered Ed’s basement bedroom, Ed asked him, “Why are you so red?”

For this, Edd had no answer.


	12. 5 Days Until

**Week of Prom, Monday**

After Edd completed his work in study hall, he asked to go to the library to work on a project. As he was sitting at a library study table, finalizing the outline that wasn’t due until Friday, he found that it was harder to concentrate in here than in study hall. There was idle chatter coming from the computer side of the library, and someone was clearly trying to gain someone else’s attention, with the constant “Pst!” and “Hey!” he could hear. Edd was really hoping that whoever they were trying to talk to, they would listen soon. Or that a teacher would intervene. Either suited Edd.

But before either could occur, a paper airplane hit Edd on the forearm, landing right on top of his work. He heard a half-whispered, “Bullseye!” before he looked around for the culprit. He immediately spotted Kevin and Nat sitting at two computers, and Edd felt silly for not looking at his surroundings sooner.

Kevin dragged a hand down his face, clearly embarrassed by Nat’s antics, before mouthing, “I’m so sorry” to Edd.

Nat, on the other hand, had leaned back in his chair and loudly whispered, “Open! It!”

Edd gave him a confused look before looking back down at the paper airplane, unfolding it, to find “TIX!!?” sprawled out in orange highlighter in Nat’s handwriting, with added hearts for the dots in the punctuation.

Edd slowly looked back up at the boys. Kevin now was turned back to his computer, with his head in his hands, but Edd could see the blush on his ear and neck.

Nat stood up immediately when he made eye contact with Edd, and started gesturing with his hands, going back and forth between thumbs up and thumbs down. Edd looked back at the paper with the orange highlighter, and finally put it all together.

He gave Nat a thumbs down. Nat’s smiled faded, and he slowly turned both his hands so they were mirroring Edd’s thumbs down.

Edd tried to signal for Nat to sit back down, but it was too late. A man who Edd believes teaches British literature, walked up behind Nat, and smacked him on the back on the head with his folder. Nat surprising didn’t make a sound but looked meekly at the teacher as he rubbed the back of his head and sat back down.

Edd looked back over at Kevin, who was now shaking with quiet laughter. He was still hiding his face and didn’t see what happened, but he probably could hear just enough to know that Nat had gotten into trouble.

Nat slapped him on the arm, causing Kevin to turn his head towards him. Nat gave him a thumbs down. Kevin spun around, now facing Edd. He dropped his shoulders and gave him such a disappointed look.

Edd waved his hands in defense, and then hastily scribbled something on the paper airplane Nathan threw at him. He started folding it back up into a paper airplane, then stopped himself, laying his head down on the desk.

_Was I seriously about to pass a note in the library via paper airplane, like a common… a common… Nathan!?_

Edd turns his head and sees Kevin still sitting sideways in his chair but looking confused this time. Nat leaned back in his chair to get a better view, looking just as confused as Kevin.

Edd quickly crumpled up the papers and stood up partially from his chair.

_I can’t believe I’m doing this._

And apparently Nat and Kevin couldn’t believe it either, judging by how wide-eyed they became. All three boys quickly looked around to see if there were any teachers or librarians watching. Nat mouthed “GO” to Edd, who immediately threw the paper ball towards Kevin. It wasn’t heavy enough to make it all the way, so Kevin almost fell out of his chair trying to catch it.

Kevin double checked for teachers or librarians before opening the paper ball. Right below Nathan’s message was Edd’s neat print, which read:

_I will get the “tix” during lunch._  
_I promise._  
 _Now tell Nathan to behave!_

Edd could see Kevin’s smug look as he read the note, before turning to Nat, clearly pointing at that last line on the note. Nat snatched the paper from Kevin, and Edd had to throw a hand over his mouth to suppress the laughter when Nat’s jaw dropped opened. He turned to Edd, look of shock and betrayal still on his face.

His face went stern, almost challenging. He maintained eye contact with a still giggling Edd, as he pulled out a pink highlighter from his pocket, pulled off the cap with too much dramatics, and then slapped his hand down on his notebook, loudly hitting the keyboard in the process. Kevin glanced back towards Edd, giving him a worried look, before leaning over to see what kind of damage Nat was attempting this time.

Kevin must not have liked what Nat was writing, because he started tugging his arm, and even tried scribbling something out with his own pen. But Nat manage to pull the pen away from Kevin, and both boys had to return to pretending to do their assignment as the teacher approach.

By the time the teacher finished his lap around their set of computers, Nat had apparently already finished his message. He ripped a piece of paper from his notebook, crumpled it up, stood, and immediately tossed it at Edd without checking his surroundings.

Edd hastily reached over his table, surprised he managed to catch it, and quickly sat back down, hiding the paper ball under his table. He looked back over at Nat, hoping his face screamed displeasure, but Nat appeared unphased. He was still standing, posing as if he just threw a basketball, with Kevin tugging on his shirt, trying to get him to sit back down, which he finally did after Kevin gave him a light punch on the stomach.

Kevin turned back to Edd and mouthed “Sorry!” again. Edd gave him a sympathetic look and nodded, hoping Kevin knew he understood. _You just can’t tame a Nathan._

Edd subtly unfolded the paper before smoothing it out against his open textbook. In pink highlighter was Nat’s handwriting, stating,

_Double Cutie! HOW DARE U!?_  
_We were NOT misbehaving._  
 _We were just worried you’d forget your ticket._

_PS. You lookin fine today. As per usual._

Edd rolled his eyes. He noticed several stray marks of blue pen on the paper, including a few spots where he managed to scribble out “Double Cutie” twice, before Nat manage to write the final note. _This must have been from where Kevin had attempted to stop Nathan._

Towards the bottom right corner, he noticed that two of the stray blue pen marks made a sloppy “X.” But there was a neatly written “O X O – KEV” right after that. Edd rolled his eyes again. He knew both Kevin’s and Nathan’s handwriting, and this definitely was not Kevin’s.

He looked back towards the boys, Kevin clearly trying to actually get his work done, while Nat was leaning back in his chair again, waggling his eyebrows at Edd.

_If Kevin ever fails a class, it would most likely be Nathan’s fault._

Edd checked the time and realized there were only a few minutes of class left before lunch. He quickly added his own message, right under what was supposedly Kevin’s addition to the note:

_This awful attempt at forgery is clearly not behaving._

Edd neatly folded the note twice, then packed his bags. As he was leaving the library, he causally dropped the note onto Kevin’s notebook right as the bell rang.

He was certain Kevin opened it and read it, because he soon heard what he believed to be the sound of Kevin hitting Nathan with his notebook, which was confirmed by Nat’s yelps of protest.

Edd went to his locker, shoved his bookbag inside, and grabbed his lunch box. He made his way to the cafeteria and headed towards the outside benches, his usual lunch spot with Ed.

On the way he passed by a table set up to one side. He glanced over at it and his heart dropped. The poster board on the front of the table read “Prom Tickets!” in glittery cutouts, with “LAST DAY!” sprawled in black sharpie underneath.

Edd patted down his pockets just in case, but he already knew it wasn’t there. His wallet was inside his bookbag, in his locker, on the other side of the school.

He quickly turned to go get his wallet, running into Kevin.

Kevin caught him, as Edd stumbled, “Woah there, Edd, where’s the fire?”

“I don’t have my wallet,” Edd rushed out, jerking his head towards the ticket table.

Kevin gave him a sympathetic look and whispered, “Don’t worry, I got you.”

Edd tried protesting, saying he has the money, just needs to get it, but Kevin brushed him off and shuffled around him towards the table.

“Kevin, I’d rather you didn’t.”

“It’s fine, dork, I’d rather get this done.”

“And shouldn’t you be in class.”

Kevin snapped around, holding up a finger to Edd’s mouth, hushing him. “Hey. Don’t get me in trouble, now. And besides, it’s just gym. Nat’s covering for me.”

“But why are you here?”

“I came to apologize about Nat, and to warn you… we are planning on crashing at Nat’s after the prom. He just got a fire pit, so probably gonna camp out and stuff.”

“Oh, dear me, I-”

“Nat was just super hyped about prom because he’s super hyped about the sleep over. That’s all. And we won’t be in school. Paper planes are permissible in your own back yard.”

Edd laughed. “That does seem fair. I’ll think about it.”

“Choice. Now, you gonna let me get this ticket or am I gonna have to fight ya?”

Edd just nodded, admitting defeat.

Kevin grinned at the secretary. “M’buddy here needs a prom ticket.”

She takes Eddward’s information, looking him up on her laptop, while Kevin pays for the ticket. She hands the ticket to Kevin, who takes a few steps away from the ticket table before handing it to Edd.

Edd doesn’t touch the ticket. He just looks at Kevin with a worried expression. “You really didn’t have to do this.”

“Consider it as a consolation for the bull Nat pulled in the library.”

“If that’s the case, Nathan needs to give us both a consolation,” Edd replied blandly.

Kevin laughed, and carefully slid the ticket into Edd’s dress shirt pocket. “You’re not wrong. Now, don’t lose this!” Kevin said, placing his hand on top of the ticket, on top of Edd’s heart, which was starting to beat harder.

Just then, Ed walks by with his lunch tray and causally says, “See ya outside, Double D.”

Edd followed him with his eyes, until Kevin patted the ticket in Edd’s pocket a few times, regaining Edd’s attention. “And for heaven’s sake, don’t let Lumpy eat this.”

Edd gave a breathy laugh. “I shall try not to,” he said, turning away to head towards Ed, placing his free hand over the ticket.

Later that afternoon, Edd had thought the whole ordeal regarding obtaining a prom ticket was behind him. That is, until Nazz walked up at the start of their dance practice. “So, Nat told me the funniest story about something happening in the library, regarding you getting a ticket to prom.”

Edd groaned and pulled his hat down over his face.

“I wanna hear your side, so I know what’s true.”

“None of it. None of it’s true.” Edd said weakly through the fabric.

Lucky for Edd, the instructor started the lesson soon after that. Unlucky for Edd, Nazz was his ride home, so she managed to get the story out of him that way. By the time she pulled up to his driveway, Nazz was in stitches, and Edd was completely drained again.

“Wait, wait, wait. Are you serious?”

Edd nodded.

“Hold up. I need a second opinion.” Nazz pulled out her phone, selected one of her contacts, then put the phone on speaker.

“’Sup.” Edd heard Kevin’s voice over the phone.

“Edd here just told me the funniest story about Nat in the library and how he-”

Kevin groaned loudly and hung up on her.

Edd bid Nazz goodnight, but she was too busy laughing, wiping the tears from her face. Edd left her there, laughing in her car in the middle of Edd’s driveway.

Though Edd was shaking his head at Nat’s unprofessional behavior, he couldn’t help but smile at it as well.

_I guess it was a bit humorous… after the fact, at least._


	13. 4 Days Until

**Week of Prom, Tuesday**

As Kevin gets home from practice, he sees Nazz’s car pull into the cul-de-sac. Typically, he wouldn’t pay it any mind, wanting to get inside and get into the shower immediately, but he noticed that she didn’t continue to the end of the cul-de-sac. Instead, she pulled into Edd’s driveway.

Kevin stood at his door, house key in hand, watching Nazz’s car. Soon, he sees Edd get out and open the back door. Edd pulls out his suit, the one Mrs. Fitzgerald fixed for him, and leans over to look through the passenger window. He hears Edd thank Nazz for the ride.

Kevin quickly headed inside his home, threw down his bags in his room, and raced for the shower. Afterwards, he rushed over to Edd’s place, and rang the doorbell an obnoxious number of times.

Edd opened the door, wearing most of his prom outfit, aside from the jacket and shoes. He looked at Kevin blankly, and said, “I almost believed it was Nathan at the door.”

Kevin just shrugged and said, “Fair.”

Edd stepped back, allowing Kevin into his home, but immediately went upstairs without waiting on him. By the time Kevin crept into his room, Edd was slipping into his dress shoes. Kevin watches as Edd examines himself in the mirror, fiddling with his hat, his bowtie, his cufflinks, and anything else he could manipulate. Edd suddenly sighs and drops his head. Edd starts unbuttoning his jacket, shrugging it off, when he looks over at Kevin. “I’m getting undressed now.”

Kevin froze for a second before saying, “I’ll get everything set up downstairs.”

Edd nodded as he removed his bowtie, “Thanks.”

By the time Edd came downstairs, he sees that Kevin has already moved all the furniture aside, closed the blinds, has started playing music on his phone, and is mock dancing. When he spins around, he sees Edd and stops dancing. Edd was half-expecting him to be embarrassed, but instead, Kevin stood upright, bowed slightly, and said, “May I have this dance.”

Edd simply nodded.

Kevin grins at him before jogging the few steps towards him, grabbing his hand, and leading him to the middle of the living room. Kevin carefully maneuvers their joined hands to a position more suitable for dancing, and then places his other hand on Edd’s lower back. Then, they began to dance.

Edd may not have been too please with how he looked in his suit, but he soon found himself grinning uncontrollably as Kevin spun them around the room. _This is probably the most enjoyable time of my life!_

When the song changed to something more suitable for a tango, Kevin quickly adjusted their dancing style. In doing so, he pulls Edd closer to himself.

Edd was suddenly reminded of the first time they attempted to dance the tango together, at the senior center. Edd once again stared at the freckles across Kevin’s face, making constellations of them. His hands, lower back, thighs, and anywhere else that was touching or too close to touching Kevin, it all felt hot.

He smelled some floral notes on Kevin, pondering their source for a minute. He soon concluded that if Kevin is the kind of guy who isn’t concerned about shelling out money or coordinating colors for prom, he’s probably not the kind of guy who’s picky about body wash, and just uses whatever his mother purchases for him. Edd leans a little closer, trying to subtly get a better sniff, and confirms that vanilla and lavender is definitely a purchased-by-mom scent.

At the end of the song, Edd smiles softly at Kevin. “It’s only been a month, but you’ve improved greatly.”

“Really!?”

“Yes. Have you been practicing at home?”

“Yeah. Not those first few nights, but every night since then.”

Edd found this quite commendable. As he found another song to dance to, he says, “It shows. You’re quite the decent dancer now.”

Edd chuckled as he saw Kevin fist pump the air, before grabbing ahold of Edd to start another waltz. “Man, that just made my day.”

Edd waited through the next turn before replying with, “Oh, really?”

“Yeah… I can’t wait to prove Nazz wrong. She’s gonna totally be so impressed, dude.”

Edd tried his hardest to keep dancing with Kevin, but he couldn’t. His concentration was completely away from the dance floor after that last comment.

Edd broke off and backed away slowly. “I-I’m sorry… I just…”

He tries to run to his room, but feels an arm grab him as he reaches the stairs. Kevin spins him around, back towards him, as if they were still dancing.

“Dude, what the matter?”

“I… I don’t think I want to go to prom anymore. I know you and Mrs. Fitzgerald have done so much for me to-”

“Hush. Don’t even go there.”

Edd clamps his mouth shut.

“Now, why don’t you want to go anymore?”

Edd looks away, rubbing his free hand against the arm Kevin was still holding. “I just feel too awkward to go to prom.”

Kevin steps closer to him, “What do you mean? Is it the dancing or what?”

“I… I just feel out of place… prom never seemed like an Eddward thing to do.” Edd doesn’t admit how he really feels. How he did want to go to prom when he was younger, but not now, not as a third wheel to Nazz and Kevin. Not while helping his crush get back with his ex. Not while being a good friend meant slowly breaking his own heart.

“Dude. Come on, now. It’s this weekend. You’re probably just all worked up from nerves. Trust me, that’s been me on and off for about a month now.”

Edd nods. “Perhaps you’re right.”

“And you need to go.”

“Because you paid for the ticket?” Edd asks sheepishly.

“Psh. Whatever. That doesn’t matter. You need to go because it will be fun. For both of us. Like I seriously don’t think I’ll have as good of a time if you don’t show up. Likewise, I think you might regret it later if you came this close to going to prom with the rest of us, just to bail out the week of.”

Edd rubs his eyes in frustration. “Fine, fine. I just… I think I am getting a bit worked up.”

Kevin hugs him. “Seems that way. But don’t worry. You’re gonna have a blast. Nat will make sure of it.”

Edd groaned loudly and Kevin tightened the hug in response.

“Kidding! Just kidding. But seriously, it’ll be fun.”

Edd finally reciprocated the hug. “I suppose you can be right.”

“I _am_ right, dork.” Kevin steps back from the hug. “Maybe we should stop the dance practice here for tonight, in case it rattles your nerves some more.”

“I’m sorry, we can just-”

“Nah, it’s cool Edd, no worries. Just want to make sure you’re okay. See you Thursday, though?”

Edd could see the hope in Kevin’s eyes. “Yeah, see you then.”

As Kevin leaves Edd’s home, he looks back and see’s Edd’s concerned expression. “Dude. Seriously. Don’t worry about it, okay? Just don’t… don’t flake out… please.”

Edd nods before bidding him goodnight.

Edd went upstairs and sat at his desk. He glances out his window towards the Barr residence, noticing when Kevin’s bedroom light turned on.

Edd laid his head in his arms on his desk. He felt just awful. He was really enjoying himself, getting to dance, and with someone he admires so much. He even started to get his hopes up about the dancing and prom, without realizing it.

_Eddward, what has gotten into you? You just need to suck it up and enjoy this. You only have one last practice with him. It’s your last dance. Don’t let talks of Nazz and prom get in the way. Just enjoy it._

Edd took a few deep breaths after his pep-talk to himself, then stood up suddenly. He looks back over to the Barr’s residence, and wonders just how gone he really is for Kevin, if he honestly believes he saw Kevin’s bedroom curtains falling back into place.


	14. 2 Days Until

**Week of Prom, Thursday**

Kevin has seemed to digress severely in the past 48 hours. He’s stepping on feet, making jerky motions, and loosing complete track of tempo and the movement of his body.

At one point, he almost fell over, taking Edd with him, but it was nowhere near as funny as the last time he caused them to fall over. When they regain their balance, he lets go of Edd, grabs his phone from the coffee table, and stops the music. He starts pacing, clearly frustrated.

“I’m sorry dork, I’m just hella nervous. I feel like I’m going to make a damn fool of myself.”

“Kevin, you’ve been doing fine.”

“No, I haven’t. This is just awful.”

“Well, today’s an off day, but otherwise, you’ve been improving marvelously.”

“But now I’m absolute shit.”

“Language! And you’re not! Like you said, you’re nervous… you’re probably going through what I’ve was going through on Tuesday.”

At that, Kevin stops pacing and looks at Edd for a moment. He maneuvers around the coffee table, to lay across the couch, draping an arm across his eyes. Edd gingerly sits down on the recliner, watching Kevin for a few moments, as they sit in silence.

Suddenly, Kevin takes a deep breath. “Hey dork, tell me I’m not going to mess this up.”

“Kevin, you’re not going to mess this up.”

There was a few more moments of silence before Kevin says, “Tell me I’m not going to trip all over the place.”

“You won’t trip all over the place.”

“Tell me I won’t make a damn fool of myself.”

“You won’t make a fool of yourself.”

“Tell me I won’t fuck up at prom.”

“You won’t… well... you won’t _mess_ up at prom.” Edd felt less tense as he saw how Kevin had smiled at Edd’s attempt to edit his last statement.

“Tell me I won’t ruin everything.”

“Kevin, I’m not even sure how all this can ‘ruin everything,’ so safe to say, you won’t ruin everything.”

“Tell me I won’t get rejected.”

“Of course, you won’t get rejected! Absolutely anyone would feel lucky to even have you ask them to dance with you!”

Kevin uncovers his eyes and stares at Edd for a minute. Edd could feel the blush invade his face, a frequent occurrence of this past month.

Kevin stood up, and carefully maneuvered around the coffee table, while fiddling with his phone. He places his phone on the coffee table and goes to stand in front of Edd, still seated on the recliner. Edd hears the start of a slower waltz starting, as Kevin says, “Well, if that’s how you feel, consider yourself lucky.”

“What do you mean?”

Kevin holds out his hand, helping Edd up. But once upright, he doesn’t let go. “May I have this dance?”

Edd doesn’t say anything in response. He just steps closer, placing an arm on Kevin’s shoulder, while adjusting their clasped hands.

As they started dancing, Edd was thinking that he did indeed feel lucky to be dancing with Kevin. These dance practices may be ending soon, but he quite enjoyed them, and he shouldn’t be bitter over whatever was happening between Nazz and Kevin. He was taking in the moment for what it’s worth, enjoying it in the present, instead of worrying about the lack of it in the future.

However, halfway through the dance, Edd recalled all of Kevin’s requests to tell him specific things and got curious about them.

“Kevin… did you make me say all those things just to stroke your ego?”

“Perhaps,” Kevin said, looking directly at Edd with a smirk. But the smirk falters, and he quickly focuses on their clasped hands instead. “Actually… it was less of an ego stroke and more like encouragement.”

“I see.”

“Yeah. Sorry I made you do that. But it really helped me out, dude. I was getting super stressed. These past few days my confidence started to plummet, to the point where I wanted to bail on prom myself.”

Edd tightened his grip on Kevin. “If I’m going, you’d better go. I am only going because of you, after all!”

Kevin looked back up at him. “You don’t say.”

“Yes… well… you kept asking me if I would go… you know… peer pressure and all that.”

“Uh huh, sure. You also going to go to Nat’s after, or should I keep _peer pressuring_ you first?” Kevin said, trying to suppress his smirk.

Edd rolled his eyes. “No. No peer pressure necessary. As long as I have a place for my overnight bag during prom, I’ll go.”

“Lock it in Nat’s trunk,” Kevin said hastily, almost as if it were all one word.

Before Edd could ask what he said, the song ends, and a much slower song starts. Kevin stops his feet, not as smoothly as he once was, but much better than earlier today. He pulls Edd completely up against him, and they start to slow dance.

Edd enjoyed the feeling of dancing with him one last time, wishing this was prom.


	15. Prom

**Prom Night**

On prom night, Edd noticed that quite a few things were off.

The first thing he noticed was Kevin’s constant attention.

To be fair, this was the first time he was willingly seen without his hat on. Edd had spent about an hour every night since Monday, trying to figure out how to get his wavy hair to look decent, and not a total mess. He tried a pony tail, the world’s smallest manbun, numerous hair products, but ultimately decided on using conditioner and just letting his hair be, hoping it wouldn’t frizz up too badly.

He was satisfied with the results, but had to go inside and apply water twice, thanks to everyone trying to touch his hair, or in Nat’s case, rub his face against it.

Except Kevin. Kevin only raised his hand towards Edd’s hair a few times, but quickly withdrew it. But he constantly stared, Edd sometimes catching him with his mouth agape, oblivious to anyone who was trying to talk to him.

The second thing he noticed was the carpool arrangements.

Because of the afterparty at Nat’s, they had several overnight bags and a giant cooler full of camping food to arrange as well as themselves. By the time it was all settled, Nazz and Jimmy were in Nazz’s car, and left immediately to go pick up Jimmy’s date. Sarah and Ed went in Ed’s truck, with Rolf in the bed of the truck, sitting next to the cooler. There were going to lock it in the cab of Ed’s truck once they got to school. That left Nat, Kevin, and Edd, all in Nat’s SUV, along with everyone’s bags.

Though Edd enjoyed the car ride with Kevin, he was confused as to why he was here. _Kevin could have easily gone with Nazz to pick up Jimmy’s date. It would almost be like a double date._

The third thing he noticed actually occurred during the carpool shuffle. Kevin was holding a small brown paper bag in one hand, refusing the let go or allow anyone to touch it. However, at one point, Kevin caved to Nat’s incessant nagging, and allowed him to peek inside the bag. Kevin quickly closed the bag and rolled the top down as Nat started squealing.

The fourth thing Edd noticed was when they got to the school and were waiting on Nazz and Jimmy to show up. While Ed and Rolf were locking the cooler inside his truck, Nat wanted to take pictures with everyone. When he got to Kevin, he held their ties together, yelling, “TWINSIES” as he took the first of several selfies with Kevin.

That’s when Edd noticed that Kevin was wearing a different tie. It was hard to tell what color it was, due to the poor lighting in the parking lot, but judging by Nat’s sparkly purple tie, Edd assumed it had to be purple as well for him to chant “Tie Twins!” repeatedly.

Edd struggled to remember if Kevin had a purple tie, wondering if he was just confused about the colors he saw in Kevin’s closet. But he did know that Nazz was wearing a red dress; that hadn’t changed.

The fifth thing Edd noticed, and possibly the most nerve-wrecking one, was the occupants of Nazz’s car when she arrived.

As soon as Nazz parked her car and killed the ignition, she and Jimmy both got out of the driver’s side of the car. Edd watched as Jimmy walked behind the car to open the door for his date, a small girl with a pixie haircut that Edd didn’t recognize.

But what really threw Edd for a loop was Nazz, walking around the front of the car, to open the front passenger-side door for Marie. Edd couldn’t stop staring, until he felt Kevin throw an arm around his shoulder.

“Crazy, right?”

“Indeed,” Edd said weakly.

The final thing Edd noticed that seemed quite off was the dancing.

Nazz danced with almost everyone there, individually, even Edd. But what seemed off was that Kevin only danced with Nazz three times (not that he was counting). Furthermore, it wasn’t just the two of them dancing, but when everyone was one the dance floor together, just goofing off (not that he was overanalyzing the situation that he also wasn’t counting).

Edd shook himself and reminded himself to stop overthinking these things, but to just enjoy the moment for what it is.

Just then, a slow song came on. Edd fidget for a moment, before quietly stepping off the dance floor, unlike Ed who shouted the whole time he ran towards the punch bowl.

Edd stood against the wall and looked back on the dance floor. He eyes went wide and his jaw went slack when he saw Nazz spin around, but instead of being held by Kevin, she was dancing with Marie.

Edd quickly looked around the room for Kevin, finally spotting him as he was slipping out the gym, into the hallway, but not without taking one long look back towards the dance floor.

“Oh, no!” Edd whispered to himself.

Edd quickly followed suit, careful not to attract the attention of the chaperones, hoping to catch up to Kevin.

The halls of the school were eerily quiet, aside from the faint sound of music from the gym. Edd might have gone back inside if he wasn’t so worried about Kevin, concerned that he may need comforting about Nazz.

Edd soon sees Kevin at his locker, fiddling with his jacket. As he approaches, Kevin reaches inside the paper bag he was carrying earlier in the evening, vision transfixed on whatever was contained inside.

Edd’s shoe squeaks as he approaches, and Kevin quickly pushes the bag back into his locker and tries to ease the locker door shut without making a noise. He looks over as he locks it, and Edd could see his shoulder relaxing. “Dude. You scared me.”

“The whole school is scary right now.”

“I know, right?”

Edd walks up to him, concern clear on his face. “Kevin, is everything alright?”

“Yeah, sure. Not a problem.”

“If there’s no problem, why are you smuggling things inside your locker and not dancing with Nazz instead? Does this have something to do with Marie showing up?”

Kevin looked at him blankly for a while, before tapping the lapel of his jacket. Edd noticed a purple flower pinned there, that wasn’t there while they were still in the cul-de-sac. “I got one of these… um…”

“Boutonniere?”

“Yeah, boutonniere… wasn’t sure if I wanted to wear it, but decided I might as well…”

Edd felt like Kevin was avoiding the actual problem at hand. He placed his hands on his hips, attempting to look authoritative, and sternly asked, “So, you bailed on a slow dance with Nazz to pin on a boutonniere?”

“Bailed on… wait… was she expecting to dance with me!?” Kevin raised his voice in confusion.

Now Edd was even more confused than before. “Give me a minute here.”

Edd leaned on the locker and tried to sort his thoughts but failed. He rolled his head towards Kevin and said, “I have no clue what’s even going on anymore. Can you just please tell me? Why did you bothering learning how to dance for Nazz, if it wasn’t to dance with Nazz?”

Kevin sighed, and leaned against the locker, shoulder pressing up against Edd. “Me and Nazz had a deal. If she asked out who she really wanted to go with to prom, I’d do the same. But Nazz was also worried about dancing at prom, so I attempted to go with her to lessons, albeit half-heartedly, but you saw how that panned out.”

Edd stiffened, before pulling away from the lockers, to stand directly in front of Kevin. “Am I correct to assume that Nazz wanted to go to the prom with _Marie_?”

“Correct as always, Edd,” Kevin said, with a small smile.

“Well, I be… I never saw that coming.”

“You and me both. Apparently, Marie, too. Took Nazz quite a bit to convince her it wasn’t a joke or some kind of Carrie-esque prank.”

“Wow… Just wow.”

Kevin laughed.

“I’m just going to be honest, here. It really seemed like you two were cozied up with one another recently.”

Kevin leaned forward to rub the back of his neck, a habit Edd has noticed over the years. “Yeah, I can see that… not our intention… guess because of all our secrets, we’ve been getting kinda chummy. Plus, Nazz has been giving herself extra challenges, like coming out to her grandma.”

“To Mrs. Fitzgerald!? When did she do that!?”

“You remember at the baseball game when Nazz pulled me away for a few minutes?”

Edd nodded.

“Then.”

“Seriously!?”

“Yep. I didn’t even know what she was doing until she did it.”

“I’m assuming since she still fixed all our prom garb, she was okay with it.”

Kevin started laughing hard. “Oh, it was hilarious… So Nazz has been running through all these scenarios of what might happen and what she would say or do in response. But she was not prepared for her Grams to say,” Kevin cleared his throat and stood upright, prepared to do his elderly impersonation. “‘Well, of course, boy are awful, no offense Kevin. I myself have been with a girl or two… closer to maybe 20… the 80’s was quite the trip!’”

“She did not!”

“She did! It was like a hat trick for throwing Nazz for a loop!” Kevin started counting it off on his fingers. “Grams was actually okay with it, Grams admitted to being bisexual, then Grams delving into her same-sex sex life in far too much detail... I’m pretty sure Nazz is scarred.”

“Understandably so,” Edd said, unable to suppress his giggles. “So… if you didn’t need to learn to dance for Nazz, why did you continue with the dance lessons?”

“To work up the nerve to ask you to prom.”

_My ears are malfunctioning. There’s no possible way he really just said that._

Kevin turned towards his locker and opened it. He could hear Kevin rustling around in the paper bag, before he closed the locker and turned back to Edd.

“At first, I was just satisfied with dancing with you, not thinking I had a chance that you’d go to prom with me, when you didn’t even want to go at all. But the closer the day came, the more torn I felt.”

Kevin raised the item in his hand, another purple boutonniere, just like the one he was wearing.

“I know we’re already here, and that prom is like halfway over, if not more, but, um… you want to go to prom with me?” Kevin said, voice teasing, but nerves clear on his face.

_This is all a dream and I’m going to wake up tomorrow and it’ll be winter break again, nowhere near prom._

“Yes.” Edd breathes out softly.

Kevin eyes close for a second as he breathes out a sigh of relief. He opens his eyes and pins the boutonniere to Edd’s jacket, only pricking himself once.

Edd reaches up to cover his face with his hat but starts panicking when he couldn’t feel the fabric of his hat. He quickly calms down when he remembered he didn’t wear it on purpose, thinking the suit would look better if he wasn’t wearing a hat.

Kevin noticed this brief moment of panic and says, “Forgot your security blanket?”

Edd nods. “Seems so.”

Kevin reaches a hand up tentatively, then lowers it, but Edd knows why.

“I feel that of all people from the cul-de-sac, my prom date should have the most rights to touch my hair if he wants.” He tried his best to ignore the way his stomach swooped at the phrase “prom date.”

Kevin smirks, “Damn right, he does!”

He slowly raises his hand again. “But seriously, I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it first.”

Edd nods and reaffirms, “Yes, you can touch it.”

Kevin slowly drags a hand along the side of Edd’s head, and Edd unconsciously closes his eyes to the touch. Soon Kevin is using both hands, trailing along Edd’s wide curls, raking his fingers through it, brushing it out of Edd’s face, and tucking strands behind Edd’s ears.

Edd tried to control his breathing as much as possible, but this task only became harder as Kevin held the back of Edd’s head with one hand and tilted his chin up with the other. Soon, Edd felt Kevin’s lips on his. It took a moment, but Edd soon remembered that he should kiss back, eliciting a breathy laugh from Kevin.

Kevin broke the kiss and pulled Edd flushed against him. He wrapped one arm around his waist, and started reaching for his hand with the other, when his grin faded. He let go of Edd and backed up until he was touching the lockers again. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me… Eddward, may I have this dance?”

Edd threw his head back with a sigh. He looked back at Kevin and said exasperatedly, “Yes! Of course! Now get back over here!”

“Demanding!” Kevin raised his eyebrows and smirked.

They can barely hear the music from here, but they can still hear it enough to know that another slow song was playing. However, they were only a few moments in to their dance, when they heard the music change. Neither boy even tried to stop but continued to slow dance.

“So, all this time, you were trying to ask me out?”

“Yeah, well, to prom at least. Didn’t plan to ask you out on a date until after the semester was over.”

Edd had no clue how to process this information.

“You really had no clue?”

“None. It was just mixed signals these past few weeks.”

Kevin nodded, “I can see that… and sorry, by the way.”

“Water under the bridge,” Edd said, cheerily. “But this is a lot of information all at one. Your feelings for me, your intent, then pretty much everything with Nazz.”

Kevin laughed, as he spun Edd around. As he pulled Edd back towards him, he said, “Yeah, when Nazz decided to come out, she wanted to do it big… by asking out her crush of the past two years.”

“Two years!? Well, then that means… when you guys were…”

“Yeah. She had feelings for Marie long before me and Nazz got together. It was one of the reasons we decided to call it quits. She liked someone else and so did I, but we didn’t see the problem in pretending to be straight until it started affecting us mentally and our families started getting involved, like me meeting her grandmother.”

“Yes, I can see that being an issue, but still, she was with you this whole time, but had a crush on Marie for two years?”

Kevin shrugged, then quickly apologized for partially dislodging Edd’s arm. Edd took the initiative this time and stepped closer to Kevin, who immediately held him tighter.

“Yeah, well, I can’t really say anything about that. It was three years for me… so yeah…”

“Three, Kevin!? Three!?”

Kevin laughed and nodded. “Yeah, well, it was on and off, if I’m being honest. Only really consistent for the past year…”

“I don’t believe you,” Edd mumble.

Kevin squeezed Edd’s hand, and slowly transitioned to a waltz. “Dude. You’re brilliant, and handsome, and kind, and really fun to be around, and pretty much the sweetest person I know. It was just hard coming out, and then trying to find a way to get to you, with dorkier and dorkiest there.”

Edd couldn’t believe what was happening. Edd started this evening, confused with the lack of organization and the lack of common date etiquette between Nazz and Kevin. And now here he is, waltzing in the school hall with Kevin, _who kissed him_ , and who’s now bearing his soul.

When Edd didn’t reply for a while, Kevin stopped dancing, and stepped closer to Edd, closing the gap between them. He ran his hand through Edd’s hair again, before slowly tilting his head back. Kevin leaned in slowly, eyes quickly darting down towards Edd’s mouth.

_Oh gracious, he’s going to kiss me again!_

Edd closed his eyes, and could feel Kevin’s breath ghosting on his lips, when he heard whistling.

“YEAH, MAN! GET IT!”

Edd’s eyes flew opened and he quickly steps back from Kevin, blushing furiously. Kevin, on the other hand, was just furious. He glared at Nat, Ed, and Nazz, all walking towards them, cat calling, whistling, and making crude comments.

“The fuck, guys!? Seriously!? C’mon man, we were having a moment, can you just like… I don’t know… FUCK OFF!?”

Nat runs up and throws an arm around both boys. “Yeah, sure, maybe later, I’m just excited you finally made your move!”

Edd quickly looked between everyone that was there, realizing that he was the only one that seemed confused or frightened.

“D-did everyone know except me?”

“Pretty much.” Said Nat and Nazz at the same time, fist bumping after the jinx.

Nat looks at Kevin, “C’mon man, we all got blisters on our feet, so we’re ready to split now.”

Kevin shoves Nat’s arm off his shoulder and pulls Edd away from Nat’s other arm.

“Should have worn better shoes.”

“Metaphorical blisters!”

“Well, we haven’t gotten our _metaphorical_ blisters, so just…” Kevin gestures for them to leave.

“Need I remind you I’m your ride tonight.”

Kevin froze for a minute and thought about it. “How about you go try to steal some prom décor for the bon fire, while me and Edd get to dance to one more song.”

Nat’s eyes lit up. “Brilliant! Lumpy! We have a mission!”

Edd began to protest as Nazz ran after them, yelling at them to behave.

Kevin just shook his head. “Whether or not they actually succeed in petty prom theft, we should have time for a _few_ more songs.” Kevin opened his locker, propped his phone on the shelf, and started the music. “Waltz or tango?”

“Slow dance an option?”

Kevin grinned in reply, quickly pulling Edd close to him.

They danced to two more songs, almost completely uninterrupted. At the end of the second song, Nat comes running down the hall with an entire balloon arch.

“IF ANYONE ASKS, I WASN’T HERE!”

They continued to sway as he passed by, soon realizing that Ed was right behind him, carrying a tablecloth with who knows what inside.

Kevin just spins them around so Edd wouldn’t be looking at the mayhem anymore.

They continue to dance through a third song, Edd resting his head on Kevin’s shoulder as he held him close.

As the fourth song started, Edd looked up. “Should we make sure they haven’t gotten arrested?”

Before Kevin could respond, they heard a loud **_POP_** coming from the end of the hall where Nat and Ed ran off to.

Kevin sighed, “I supposed it is time to check on the children.”

Edd laughed, stepping away from Kevin. Kevin grabbed his phone and closed his locker.

As they walked towards the parking lot, hand in hand, Kevin looks over and says, “You think we can try learning salsa again on Tuesday? Or something else more… Latin?”

“Uh, but the prom is-”

Kevin gave him a smug look as he pushed opened the doors to the school. “Don’t assume that just because prom is over, that I still won’t find an excuse to dance with ya.”

Edd smiled at him as they walked down the steps. “Okay, then! Salsa on Tuesday!”

“Choice!” Kevin said, before pulling Edd closer, and kissing him on top of his head, choosing to ignore the catcalls from their friends waiting in the parking lot.

-The End-


End file.
